Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company
The New York Times
August 17, 2002, Saturday, Late Edition - Final
NAME: Jesse Brown
SECTION: Section A; Page 12; Column 1; National Desk
LENGTH: 351 words
BYLINE: By The New York Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, Aug. 16

Jesse Brown, a secretary of veterans affairs under President Bill Clinton who helped expand veterans benefits to cover post-traumatic stress disorder, exposure to Agent Orange and illnesses related to the Persian Gulf war, died on Thursday at his home in Warrenton, Va. He was 58.

The cause was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, said David E. Autry, a spokesman for Disabled American Veterans, where Mr. Brown worked for years. Mr. Brown was secretary of veterans affairs from January 1993 to July 1997. During his tenure, the department changed the way it delivered health care by offering treatment to veterans in their communities through expanded outpatient services, rather than focusing on treatment in large V.A. hospitals.

That change is credited with making it easier for veterans to gain access to the department's health care system.

During Mr. Brown's tenure, the department decided to open its health care system to all veterans after Congress changed the department's eligibility rules in 1996. Previously, eligibility for health care was largely limited to the poor and to those who had been made ill or injured by their military service.

"There are so many things that Jesse changed at the V.A.," Thomas H. Corey, president of Vietnam Veterans of America, said, noting in particular Mr. Brown's efforts to expand benefits for homeless veterans and to offer counseling to women who had been sexually assaulted.

Mr. Autry, of Disabled American Veterans, said that post-traumatic stress disorder and the effects of exposure to Agent Orange were largely ignored by the Department of Veterans Affairs before Mr. Brown became secretary.

Mr. Brown was born in Detroit on March 27, 1944. After growing up in Chicago, he attended Chicago City College, where he graduated with honors. He served in the Marine Corps in the Vietnam War and was wounded in the right arm.

Mr. Brown is survived by his wife, Sylvia; his mother, Lucille Brown; a sister, Dorothy; two children, Carmen and Scott; and a granddaughter.

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