Durbin Continues to Work for Traumatic Brain Injury Care

Press Release

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that major components of his legislation on traumatic brain injury (TBI) were included in a fast moving bill introduced by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI). The Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act, includes several of Durbin's proposals from his bipartisan Military and Veterans Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Act (S.1349), which requires the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Veteran Affairs (VA) to implement a comprehensive program to diagnose, treat and rehabilitate service members and veterans who have suffered a service-related traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury is the signature injury of the Iraq war. The widespread use of improvised explosive devices (IED's) has created thousands of TBI victims, sometimes with no other visible signs of injury. The concussions from IED explosion cause sudden, violent head movements which often lead to a TBI. With symptoms similar to that of shaken baby syndrome, TBI's are difficult to diagnose. Injured service members may suffer from headaches, confusion, dizziness and lightheadedness in mild cases, to mood changes, loss of memory, convulsions, weakness or numbness in the extremities, and loss of coordination in more severe cases.

"Too many of our brave service men and women are coming home from war with serious injuries that may be overlooked because they don't bear any visible wounds or scars," Durbin said. "We are still learning the best treatment options for those suffering from TBI. With the knowledge we gain from increased research we will be able to moderate the impact TBI has on the lives of our veterans and their families. Today we're taking an important step forward by introducing a comprehensive military and veterans health care bill that will aid thousands of America's service members and veterans dealing with TBI."

The Senate Armed Services Committee will include Senator Durbin's language in a version of the bill they will markup in committee tomorrow. A markup is the process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation.

The Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act includes the following provisions from Senator Durbin's original bill:

· Screening - DOD will be required to develop and administer a standardized cognitive pre-test to be administered to all military personnel prior to deployment and upon return from deployment to determine if possible brain injury exists.

· Outreach - The act will also require DOD to conduct education and outreach to families of members of the Armed Forces on a range of matters relating to TBI including detection, mitigation, and treatment, as well as train family members with respect to care for combat disabled service members.

· Seamless Transition - The bill requires the DOD and VA to develop a joint plan for the seamless transition of service members from DOD health care to VA health care and require the government to use electronic medical records to ease the transition.

· Enhanced Availability of Care - Under this bill, any former or current member of the Armed Forces with a severe combat-related injury or illness will be entitled to medical and dental care in any facility of the uniformed services as if they were a member of the Armed Forces for a period of 3 years beginning on the date they leave active duty.

· Partnerships - The bill allows the DOD to enter into partnerships, agreements, or other arrangements with the VA, institutions of higher education, and other appropriate public and private entities to prevent, diagnose, mitigate, treat, and rehabilitate service members suffering from a traumatic brain injury. The partnerships can also be used to help train medical staffs, accomplish research, and develop outreach strategies.

· Authorization - The bill authorizes $5 million for the creation of a Center of Excellence in Prevention, Diagnosis, Mitigation, Treatment, and Rehabilitation of Traumatic Brain Injury. It also authorizes $50 million relating to the improved diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of members of the Armed Forces with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder -- $17 million of which shall be available for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center.

Last year, Senator Durbin introduced an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill that allocated an additional $12 million to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, providing the center a total of $19 million for Fiscal Year 2007. That authorization was included in the Omnibus Appropriations bill this January, at Senator Durbin's urging. That amendment as well as Senator Durbin's bill has been endorsed by Veterans for America.

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