Brain Injury Blog | Traumatic Brain Injury TBI

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. Continue Reading »

Town Hall Would Facilitate Discussion of Issues Facing America’s Military and Veteran Community, Including Traumatic Brain Injury

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) recently joined a consortium of non-profit organizations dedicated to serving active military, veterans, their families and their survivors, in inviting the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates to Fort Hood, Texas, for an in-depth discussion of the increasingly complex issues facing America’s military and veteran community. The CBS television network has agreed to produce and broadcast the very important Town Hall meeting in prime time on Monday, August 11, 2008. Continue Reading »

The Fiscal Year 2009 appropriations process continues to be stalled, as the House Appropriations Committee does not plan on marking up any more bills this summer after a partisan dispute erupted in recent weeks over amendments on energy policy.  And while the Senate Appropriations Committee plans to have all 12 of its bills approved by the panel by the end of this month, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said this week that action on appropriations in his chamber will be very limited in the next few months. Continue Reading »

BIAA Signs On In Support of National Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness Week Resolution

BIAA was proud to sign on as a supporter of the National Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness Week Resolution (S. Res. 518), which passed the Senate on Monday. The Resolution, introduced by Senator Dodd (D-CT), dedicates this week (the week of April 21st through 25th) to raise awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome and to ultimately eliminate its occurrence.

BIAA was included as a supporter of the resolution in Senator Dodd’s floor statement that was submitted to the Congressional Record when it was introduced on Thursday, April 16, 2008.

BIAA Submits Testimony to Senate Appropriations Subcommittee

Also this week, BIAA submitted written testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee in charge of funding TBI programs within the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education. BIAA’s testimony urges an increase in funding in Fiscal Year 2009 for programs authorized through the TBI Act, as well as TBI research programs conducted within the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).

Within the testimony, BIAA requests $30 million in funding for programs authorized through the TBI Act, as well as sufficient funding to sustain and increase medical rehabilitation research within NIDRR. The testimony also urges an allocation of at least $8.3 million to allow NIDRR to continue to fund 16 TBI Model Systems research centers.

In addition, BIAA played a leading role, along with other national organizations, in recent weeks in drafting and circulating an organizational sign-on letter in support of FY09 TBI appropriations. The letter, which was signed by over 25 organizations - including several veterans organizations - was recently delivered to both the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

Copies of both BIAA’s written testimony and the Organizational Sign-On Letter in support of appropriations for TBI programs can be obtained by visiting BIAA’s website at the following address: http://www.biausa.org/policyissues.htm.

Brain Injury Association of America
Policy Corner E-Newsletter – April 18, 2008
A weekly update on federal policy activity related to traumatic brain injury
__________________________________________________________________

Dear Advocates:

After legislation to reauthorize the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Act successfully passed Congress on April 10, the bill still needs to be considered by the President for his signature into law. BIAA anticipates this consideration will occur within the next week, and is closely monitoring the situation.

This week the House of Representatives passed by a veto-proof margin H.R. 5613, important legislation which would place a moratorium until March 2009 on seven harmful Medicaid regulations issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. BIAA issued a Legislative Action Alert earlier this week before the vote encouraging advocates to urge their Representative to vote YES on the bill. The fate of the bill is now up to the Senate.

Also this week, BIAA submitted written testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee in charge of funding TBI programs within the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education. BIAA’s testimony urges an increase in funding in Fiscal Year 2009 for programs authorized through the TBI Act, as well as TBI research programs conducted within the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).

In addition, a representative of BIAA was invited to attend an event hosted by President George W. Bush on Thursday, April 24, at the White House. The inspiring event honored a group of wounded warriors as they kicked off the Wounded Warrior Project’s second annual “Soldier Ride: White House to Light House Challenge.”

And lastly, BIAA was proud to sign on as a supporter of the National Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness Week Resolution (S. Res. 518), which passed the Senate on Monday. The Resolution, introduced by Senator Dodd (D-CT), dedicates this week (the week of April 21st through 25th) to raise awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome and to ultimately eliminate its occurrence.

*Distributed by Laura Schiebelhut, BIAA Public Affairs Manager, on behalf of the Brain Injury Association of America; 703-761-0750 ext. 637; lschiebelhut@biausa.org

The Policy Corner is made possible by the Adam Williams Initiative, Centre for Neuro Skills, and Lakeview Healthcare Systems, Inc. The Brain Injury Association of America gratefully acknowledges their support for legislative action.

Last night, the House of Representatives passed legislation to reauthorize the Traumatic Brain Injury Act (S. 793), by a vote of 392-1. BIAA thanks all of you who called your Representatives and urged them to vote YES on the bill! Continue Reading »

This week BIAA submitted written testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee in charge of funding TBI programs within the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education.  BIAA’s testimony urges an increase in Fiscal Year 2009 funding for programs authorized through the TBI Act, as well as for TBI research programs conducted within the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).

In the testimony,  BIAA’s President and CEO Susan H. Connors states, “BIAA was gravely disappointed that last year, even as Congress had the good judgment to add hundreds of millions dollars to the budgets of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to help address the problem of TBI among returning servicemembers, funding for the HRSA Federal TBI Program was reduced from $8.91 million to $8.754 million.”

Within the testimony, BIAA requests $30 million in funding for programs authorized through the TBI Act, as well as sufficient funding to sustain and increase medical rehabilitation research within NIDRR.  The testimony also urges an allocation of at least $8.3 million to allow NIDRR to continue to fund 16 TBI Model Systems research centers.A copy of the testimony can be obtained by visiting BIAA’s website at the following address:  http://www.biausa.org/policyissues.htm.

Also this week, both chambers of Congress held important hearings on efforts to improve health care for returning service members, as well as to improve the veterans’ disability benefits system. BIAA submitted questions and comments in relation to several of the hearings.

The Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing on “Care for Sick and Wounded Service Members” on Tuesday, February 13. BIAA submitted questions for the hearing regarding TRICARE coverage of cognitive rehabilitation.

On Thursday, he House Veterans Affairs Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee held a hearing on the VA’s disability claims system. BIAA submitted its recent Comment Letter on a Proposed Rule by the Department of Veterans Affairs to overhaul the Schedule for Rating Disability related to TBI to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.

To view a copy of BIAA’s Comment Letter to the VA, please visit our website at http://www.biausa.org/policyissues.htm.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS-Ed) held a hearing on Thursday on this year’s proposed budget for the Department of Health and Human Services, featuring HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt as a witness. At the same time, BIAA signed on this week to a coalition letter to the Subcommittee urging its Members to provide $30 million for TBI Act programs this year.

BIAA also signed on to a coalition letter urging Members of Congress to increase funding for all aspects of public health included in the Function 550/discretionary budget allocation in Fiscal Year 2009 by $5.3 billion.

The letter states:

“Our nation struggles with escalating health care costs, growing numbers of uninsured, and the prospect of declining health measured by overall morbidity and mortality. The President’s budget for FY 2009 continues to seriously underfund and undermine an important part of the solution: public health activities and programs…The undersigned organizations urge you to increase funding for all aspects of public health…by an amount that will: 1) restore funding cuts to public health programs enacted in FY 2006; 2) restore lost purchasing power that flat-funding for at least five years has eroded and 3) provide investments that begin to truly meet health challenges facing the nation.”

The three federal agencies charged with implementing TBI Act programs – the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – received either flat or significantly decreased funding in the President’s Budget.

A key legislative priority for BIAA this year is to work to prevent any cuts in funding for TBI programs from occurring and to instead achieve a significant increase in federal support for TBI programs. Stay tuned for BIAA Legislative Action Alerts regarding TBI-related appropriations.