Political Quotes

“Thousands of our brave servicemen and women are returning from combat with severe cases of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), resulting in an inability to hold a job, properly care for their families, or in some cases, to overcome suicidal tendencies. As a nation, we have the responsibility for their care and recovery. Currently, private healthcare providers across the United States are helping brain injury patients with new and innovative treatments that are not currently available or approved by the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Examples of these treatments include Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), flash doses of approved drugs, and small device implants that operate like brain pacemakers. While the Department of Defense is currently conducting their own studies on these already proven treatment methods, it will take five or more years to formally approve these treatments and make them accessible to our injured troops and veterans. If a treatment is good enough for private medicine, why is it not good enough for military medicine? In an effort to fix this delinquency I introduced the TBI Treatment Act (H.R. 396) in January 2011. Today I am proud to offer it as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4310) with my friend and colleague from California, Congressman Mike Thompson.…”