Pascrell TBI Amendment Passes House
By Mel Fabrikant, The Paramus Post
Legislation directs DOD to conduct study of blast-induced traumatic brain injuries sustained by soldiers
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the House of Representatives passed an amendment authored by U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) that would direct the U.S. Department of Defense to conduct a study on blast injury mechanics impacting soldiers on the battlefield. Rep. Pascrell's amendment was included in National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (H.R. 4435), which passed with a vote of 325-98.
"It's imperative we provide our brave men and
women in uniform the care they were promised
upon returning from the battlefield,"
said Rep. Pascrell, co-founder and
co-chair of the Congressional Brain Injury Task
Force. "Although the Department of
Defense has taken important steps toward
identifying and treating our soldiers who have
suffered traumatic brain injuries, we must
ensure every resource possible is available to
those serving our nation. Key investments in
this type of traumatic brain injury research
will help prevent soldiers from sustaining this
devastating injury by ensuring that the
necessary data exists to design soldiers’
protective gear in a way that limits the impact
of primary blast."
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is commonly known
as the signature wound of the conflicts in Iraq
and Afghanistan. The Department of Defense’s
Peer-Reviewed Psychological Health and TBI
Research Program conducts extensive research on
TBI; however, little is known about primary
blast injury and its connection to TBI.
Researchers at New Jersey Institute of
Technology (NJIT) are developing a major
national research facility in response to this
health challenge. By developing a comprehensive
program, NJIT researchers hope to gain knowledge
about TBI and to translate that knowledge into
better therapies and protective measures.
“We would be grateful to see any new funding
that can be directed to preventing or reducing
the incidence of TBI experienced by our
warfighters,” said Dr. Donald H.
Sebastian, Sr. Vice President at NJIT.
“Our researchers are working to pinpoint the
mechanism for cellular damage caused by exposure
to blasts like IEDs, and to work that knowledge
back to a new generation of protective gear.”
Primary blast injury occurs when an explosion
generates a blast wave traveling faster than
sound and creating a surge of high pressure
immediately followed by a vacuum. Studies have
shown that the blast wave shoots through armor
and soldiers' skulls and brains, even if it
doesn't draw blood. Researchers still do not
know the exact mechanisms by which primary blast
injuries damages the brain's cells and circuits.
However, the blast wave's pressure has been show
to compress the torso, impacting blood vessels,
which then send damaging energy pulses into the
brain. The pressure can also be transferred
partially through the skull, interacting with
the brain. Understanding how a primary blast
injury affects the brain is imperative to
developing appropriate prevention measures,
including ensuring proper equipment.
Rep. Pascrell's amendment would direct the
Department of Defense through the Peer-Reviewed
Psychological Health and TBI Research Program to
conduct a study on blast injury mechanics
covering a wide range of primary blast injury
conditions, including TBI, in order to
accelerate solution development in this critical
area.
Approximately 1.7 million Americans experience
TBI each year and an estimated 5.3 million
Americans are living with long-term, severe
disabilities as a result of brain injury.
Another 176,000 men and women have sustained a
TBI in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Founded by Rep. Pascrell in 2001, the
Congressional Brain Injury Task Force’s mission
is to further provide education and awareness of
brain injury (incidence, prevalence, prevention
and treatment) and support funding for basic and
applied research on brain injury rehabilitation
and development of a cure. The Task Force is
bipartisan and made up of over one hundred
members of Congress.
***
Statement for the Record
Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2015 – Pascrell Amendment #80
May 22, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss an
important issue facing our troops – primary
blast injury and its connection to traumatic
brain injury.
TBI has become the “signature wound” of the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan, with 20% soldiers
deployed are estimated to have experienced a
brain injury. I would like to thank Chairman
McKeon and Ranking Member Smith for their
commitment to this issue in recent
authorizations.
As Co-Chair and Co-Founder of the Congressional
Brain Injury Task Force, I have spent the last
thirteen years fighting for patients with brain
injuries, both on and off the battlefield. We
all know that traumatic brain injury (TBI) is
the signature wound of the conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and while we made great progress on
ensuring our soldiers have the best care, there
is still more work to be done.
The high rate of TBI and blast-related
concussion events resulting from current combat
operations directly impacts the health and
safety of individual service members, and
subsequently the level of unit readiness and
troop retention. The Department of Defense (DoD)
is actively seeking strategies to prevent,
mitigate, and treat blast-related injuries,
including TBI.
Since I began working on this issue, our
knowledge of the brain has expanded at an
incredible pace. In recent years, we have made
strong investments in TBI research. The DoD’s
Peer-Reviewed Psychological Health and TBI
Research Program conducts extensive research on
TBI; however, little is known about primary
blast injury and its connection to TBI. Primary
blast injury occurs when an explosion generates
a blast wave traveling faster than sound and
creating a surge of high pressure immediately
followed by a vacuum. Studies show that the
blast wave shoots through armor and soldiers'
skulls and brains, even if it doesn't draw
blood. Researchers still do not know the exact
mechanisms by which primary blast injuries
damages the brain's cells and circuits. However,
the blast wave's pressure has been show to
compress the torso, impacting blood vessels,
which then send damaging energy pulses into the
brain. The pressure can also be transferred
partially through the skull, interacting with
the brain.
My amendment would direct the Department of
Defense to conduct a study on blast injury
mechanics covering a wide range of primary blast
injury conditions, including TBI. Understanding
how a primary blast injury affects the brain is
imperative to developing appropriate prevention
measures, including ensuring proper equipment. I
was glad to see this amendment pass the House
last night, and I hope that it will be adopted
in the final bill after negotiations with the
Senate.