Support for Our Wounded Heroes

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in increasing numbers of service members returning with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  We have a duty to reform and ready the military for the increasing number of veterans suffering from these complex injuries. Today I am taking steps needed to ensure our men and women in uniform and their families have the care and support they need and deserve. In October 2006, as part of the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act, the President signed into law major pieces of my Heroes at Home legislation, which requires the establishment of a training curricula to guide DOD and VA health professionals as they help family members learn to support loved ones suffering from TBI.  Heroes at Home also requires the establishment of a working group to identify ways to help Guardsmen and Reservists transition back to civilian jobs after deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan, and sets up a DOD Task Force to assess the mental health challenges – including PTSD – faced by members of the Guard and Reserve.  In September 2006, moreover, I secured $3 million in initial funding for Heroes at Home in the annual Department of Defense Appropriations bill.

In March 2007, I introduce d new legislation to build on Heroes at Home.  Specifically, my legislation would improve the screening process for our troops before deployment to better enable the detection of TBI after deployment; expand the use of telehealth and telemental health services, which can be particularly helpful to service members or veterans living in rural areas; and help family members taking care of a loved one to get training and certification for dealing with brain injuries and psychological injuries.

I have also joined with Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana to introduce legislation that seeks to improve quality and access to treatment for service members and veterans with TBI.  Currently, the VA has too little capacity to treat veterans with TBI, and this legislation both encourages the VA to improve its ability to treat TBI and seeks to better bridge the gap between the treatment received by active-duty troops and veterans.

In the 109th Congress I also cosponsored the Healing the Invisible Wounds Act of 2006 with Senator Akaka and other colleagues.  The legislation would protect PTSD compensation, enhance counseling and readjustment services available to National Guard and Reserve members returning from a combat theater, and authorize additional funding for Vet Centers.