[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 24, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S9391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, as you know, the Defense 
authorization bill passed the Senate last week. Like many of my 
colleagues, I filed an amendment to the legislation, which had been 
included in the committee managers' package. Unfortunately, due to 
procedural matters stemming from the Senate majority's decision to 
limit amendments, my amendment, No. 5415--and many others like it--was 
not permitted to move forward. Although my amendment was not able to be 
considered by the Senate during debate over the Defense bill, I 
nonetheless want to bring the issue underlying the amendment to the 
attention of my colleagues.
  My amendment was quite simple. It was a sense of the Senate that 
stated that funding for Department of Defense programs involving 
traumatic brain injury, TBI, and psychological health should be 
included in the President's fiscal year 2010 base budget.
  Typically, the majority of funding for such programs has been 
included in supplemental appropriations measures. The reasoning 
apparently has been that these programs are a cost of war, and 
therefore they should be addressed through war supplementals.
  But TBI and psychological health issues are problems that have been 
with us for some time and unfortunately are going to be with us for the 
foreseeable future.
  Military personnel often experience health difficulties owing to TBI 
and psychological injuries long after their combat tour has been 
completed. Moreover, it has been reported that as many as one in five 
military personnel returning from Afghanistan and Iraq will suffer from 
TBI. That is a significant percentage of our military, There are 
currently nearly 3,000 brave Kentuckians deployed in the war on terror. 
According to these projections, close to 600 of these brave men and 
women will suffer from TBI. That figure does not even include those who 
have already returned from theater.
  Considering the long-term health ramifications of TBI and the large 
number of military personnel who will face these challenges, it seems 
to me that this reality ought to be reflected in DOD's long-term 
baseline budgeting rather than through ad hoc supplementals.
  My amendment would have put the Senate on record as stating that TBI 
and psychological health issues reflect a long-term budget priority for 
our Nation and should be considered as part of the regular order. I 
believe we owe the brave men and women of our military no less.

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