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Traumatic Brain Injury Health Enhancement and Long-Term Support Act of 2007

Floor Speech

By: Tim Walz
By: Tim Walz
Date: May 23, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Health and Health Care


TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY HEALTH ENHANCEMENT AND LONG-TERM SUPPORT ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - May 23, 2007)

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Mr. WALZ of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2199. I want to thank my colleague from Maine for sponsoring this piece of legislation; also thank my colleague from Maine (Mr. Michaud), who's been a leader on this issue and veterans issues in general; grateful that he introduced this piece of legislation, and grateful that he allowed a piece of legislation that I had introduced establishing the five TBI centers around the country.

I'd also like to thank the ranking member, the gentleman from Indiana, for his thoughtful guidance on the colocation of those facilities. I think it's absolutely the right thing to do. I think it concentrates our resources and our expertise. So I thank him for that addition to it.

The colocation at the polytrauma centers is the right thing to do. The research that's being done there is world class. And I think an example of how we can enhance that comes from, and you just heard one of my colleagues speaking about this injury.

I visit the VA centers every Veterans Day for the last quite some time. And several years ago there was a young man from Michigan there, and he had suffered a traumatic brain injury. He had survived a shrapnel wound, but his brain had literally been turned inside of his head. And because of the great care he was receiving there, he was stabilized, and he was starting to rehabilitate. This bill will allow us to enhance his recovery, starting to reintegrate him back to the life that he knows and that he should be able to live.

On this floor we're going to continue to debate the wars. We're going to continue to see the debates divide us on the war in Iraq. This Congress, and I thank the ranking member, and the chairman for allowing the care of our veterans to bring us back together. Regardless of how we feel on this war, this Congress and this committee is proving that the 110th Congress can and will advance crucial legislation like H.R. 2199. So I thank you both. I thank my colleagues.

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