Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006--Continued

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007--Continued -- (Senate - September 05, 2006)

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to make a statement in support of the amendment at this point. I think we all understand that the war we are fighting in Iraq has resulted in injuries that are much different than in previous wars. Many times our soldiers would go to war and face other soldiers and enemies with rifles aimed at them trying to kill them. Now most of our soldiers and marines are coming home with injuries related to trauma from these homemade bombs, these IEDs which are being exploded. As a consequence, the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for American soldiers has become traumatic brain injury.

Many of my colleagues who have visited injured servicemen at military Veterans Administration facilities across the Nation understand this is a new challenge for us. We say to the men and women in uniform: If you will risk your life and stand up for America, we will stand by you. If you are injured, we will make sure we do everything humanly possible to get you back on your feet and back at home and into your normal life.

So now we know that traumatic brain injury is a new challenge for us, in greater numbers than we have ever seen in previous conflicts. The leading organization within the DOD to deal with this is the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. They started it in 1992, and the clinical treatment and research conducted by that center has really tried to define optimal care for survivors of traumatic brain injury.

This center is located at Walter Reed, one of our greatest hospitals in America. It has other sites in Texas, California, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, and Minnesota. The center's current budget is $14 million. That fiscal year ends in just a few weeks. The leaders at the center requested $19 million for the coming year. They say there are more patients. That is obvious from the soldiers coming home. They say the cost of long-term care has gone up. The current staffing requirements and need for research to improve treatment and prevention all require more funds, so that $14 million this year would not be enough for next year. The appropriations bill we seek to amend, unfortunately, cut the funds for the center. In fact, it cut them in half to $7 million. That is totally inadequate, even for this year, and would not meet the need for next year.

The center estimates that 1 out of every 10 servicemembers in Iraq and 2 in 10 troops in the front lines return from combat tours with concussions. It is the nature of combat in Iraq, where insurgents use roadside bombs instead of bullets. That produces more brain injuries. As of today, more than 1,700 wounded servicemen have come back from Iraq with brain injuries. Half of them are severe enough to permanently impair thinking, memory, mood, behavior, and their ability to work. In Vietnam and previous 20th century wars, brain injuries were just 12 percent of injuries. In Iraq and Afghanistan, it is almost double--22 percent.

According to a recent study by researchers at Harvard and Columbia, it is estimated that the cost of medical treatment for these individuals with brain injuries from the Iraq war will be at least $14 billion over the next 20 years. So when we speak of the real cost of war at this point, we are talking about not only the current injuries that are being treated as the soldiers return home but their long-term care and rehabilitation, which is part of our responsibility as well.

This brain injury center is completely different from other brain injury programs and initiatives. It focuses on the well-being of those who put themselves in harm's way for our country. It is not just research, it is treatment based. It links injured soldiers to clinical studies where cutting-edge treatments are explored. It does this with all members of the military, Active-Duty personnel and reservists as well. No other brain center combines treatment and clinical studies for the immediate benefit of our servicemembers.

This brain center also focuses on the unique needs of the military and veteran beneficiaries, including return-to-duty considerations, continuation of care with military and veterans hospitals, and TRICARE.

I offered amendment No. 4884 along with Senators Menendez, Mikulski, Kennedy, Bingaman, Kerry, Lautenberg, and Obama. They have all joined me in offering this amendment. I sent out a ``dear colleague'' last week, and I am happy to have their support. Now we are going to combine our amendment with Senator Allen's efforts so that it is a bipartisan effort to pass this amendment.

This amendment will allow the brain center to meet its current administrative and staffing requirements and maintain talented professionals who are essential for the soldiers to get back on their feet. My colleagues can clearly see that the brain injury center is directly related to the needs of our warfighters and will go a long way toward treating the signature wound of our conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is not just another research program.

Before the August recess, there was a lengthy debate about my attempts to put more money into research for traumatic brain injury, which was voted down on the floor. This is treatment as well as research and therapy. It is time for us to take decisive action.

I am proud that the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the National Military Families Association, the American Legion, and the Blinded Veterans Association all support my amendment for more funding for the brain injury center. I hope my colleagues will also support our injured troops fighting this war by supporting this amendment.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I am going to ask unanimous consent, but I will make it clear that if there is any modification at a later point that Senator Allen suggests, I will be glad to work with him. I believe this is our understanding based on the colloquy we had.

I ask unanimous consent that amendment No. 4883, Senator Allen's amendment, be shown as the Allen-Durbin amendment and that my cosponsors be added as cosponsors to this amendment. My amendment No. 4884 and Senator Allen's are identical.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?

Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. DURBIN. If Senator Allen wants to change that in any way, I will be happy to do it.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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