Bill Pascrell: “Mr. Chairman, 7 years into war, we are still not properly screening and treating our troops for traumatic brain injury…”

“Mr. Chairman, 7 years into war, we are still not properly screening and treating our troops for traumatic brain injury, known as the signature injury of those wars. This is unacceptable. My amendment today builds on the requirements for the cognitive screening outline in the 2008 defense authorization bill, which most of us voted for, to identify soldiers for possible brain injury. My amendment ensures the same tool is used for pre-and post-deployment cognitive screenings. It requires the Department of Defense to complete comparative studies in order to find the best cognitive screening tool for our troops. The fiscal year 2008 defense authorization bill required predeployment and postdeployment screenings of soldiers' cognitive ability. It is right in the law. Congress passed it. The President at that time, President Bush, signed it. Two years later, the law has not been fulfilled. As a result, less than 1 percent of the 550,000 members of the Armed Forces have been given postdeployment cognitive screenings.”