Jul 22 2008
Senate Appropriations Committee Passes Military Construction-VA Funding Bill
Also this week, although appropriations activity remains stalled in the House, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the fiscal 2009 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs spending bill, containing increased funding for medical research, including TBI research.
The bill allocates $526.8 million for medical research targeted to the veteran population, including research into mental health, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, polytraumatic physical activities and sensory abilities, such as hearing and vision loss.
The funding bill also contains valuable report language directing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish and expand cooperative agreements with public and private groups to treat traumatic brain injury patients from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to report on expanding the pool for expertise available to treat the injuries.
BIAA applauds this report language, as one of BIAA’s main federal policy goals continues to be increasing access to non-VA (civilian) TBI care providers when in the optimal interest of the service member, and BIAA remains very active on this issue on Capitol Hill.
The report language also encourages the VA to initiate a demonstration project on community reintegration for service members and veterans with disabilities who are receiving services at polytrauma centers.
