Community Corner
Your Legislators: House Votes to Include Pascrell's Amendments to Defense Bill
Changes include providing critical improvements in detection and treating soldiers who sustain traumatic brain injury.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to include two amendments to the 2012 National Defense Authorization bill authored by Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ-8).
The amendments are designed to help service members who have sustained traumatic brain injuries.
One amendment would require the federal Department of Defense to transfer the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCOE) to a different branch of government so it could be managed more effectively. A report by the Government Accountability Office in February pointed that the DCOE has weaknesses in its organization and management structure.
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The other amendment would require the Department of Defense to identify, refer, and treat service members who may have had a traumatic brain injury prior to June 2010. Prior to that time, the Department did not have a sufficient screening process for identifying traumatic brain injuries.
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