Debbie Wasserman Schultz: “it is not the place for Congress to be pushing for increased use of experimental treatments. This procedure is highly…”

“it is not the place for Congress to be pushing for increased use of experimental treatments. This procedure is highly invasive, requiring an injection of medication into a collection of nerves at the bottom of the front side of the neck. The VA and NIH are in the midst of a multiyear clinical trial to collect data on this treatment for potential use in treating post-traumatic stress disorder but do not yet have sufficient data one way or the other regarding this treatment. In fact, preliminary data show that SGB effects are not clear, and it is uncertain whether there is a direct link between the treatment and PTSD. If this treatment is safe, effective, and appropriate for expanded use, then the healthcare experts at the VA should be the ones to expand the treatment for wider use. There is a deliberative process for expanding the use of emerging healthcare treatments, and we should let that process play out. It is really not Congress' role to micromanage medical decisions. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.”