WASHINGTON INSIGHT

ENGULFED WITH MALADIES: Freshman Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), 34, an Army reservist in the Gulf War, says he is among more than 4,000 veterans suffering from mysterious illnesses linked to their service in the conflict. He has come down with pneumonia, spastic colon, allergies and other maladies and can’t jog or do pushups. Aide Pat Hinton says the congressman thinks his immune system was broken down by fumes from lead-based diesel fuel burned by tent heaters. . . . Buyer and others on the House Veterans Affairs Committee have introduced legislation that would set up a medical unit to investigate the health effects of exposure to chemicals in the war.