Orrin Hatch: “I have introduced legislation to reauthorize the Traumatic Brain Injury Act. It is my pleasure to be joined in this…”

“I have introduced legislation to reauthorize the Traumatic Brain Injury Act. It is my pleasure to be joined in this effort by my colleague and fellow member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, Senator Bob Casey, Jr. Brain injuries are among the most frequent reasons for visits to physicians and emergency rooms, and contribute to about thirty percent of all injury deaths. A critical health issue for military personnel, TBI has also become a signature wound of war. According to a Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, DVBIC, analysis of surveillance data released by the Department of Defense, DoD, 33,149 U.S. military personnel were diagnosed with a TBI in 2011 alone. People who survive a TBI can face observable effects lasting just a few days, or serious lifelong disability. A survivor of a severe brain injury typically faces five to 10 years of intensive services and estimated lifetime costs in the millions. TBI affects not only the person living with TBI, but also the family and community of which the individual is a part. Families are the primary caregivers for a person with brain injury. The Traumatic Brain Injury Act is the only Federal legislation that specifically addresses issues faced by the millions of American children and adults who live with a long-term disability as a result of TBI. I first introduced the TBI Act with the late Senator Ted Kennedy nearly 20 years ago.…”