[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 170 (Tuesday, November 29, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H6343-H6344]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NO HERO LEFT UNTREATED ACT
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 5600) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
to carry out a pilot program to provide access to magnetic EEG/EKG-
guided resonance therapy to veterans, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5600
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``No Hero Left Untreated
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Magnetic EEG/EKG-guided resonance therapy has
successfully treated more than 400 veterans with post-
traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military
sexual trauma, chronic pain, and opiate addiction.
(2) Recent clinical trials and randomized, placebo-
controlled, double-blind studies have produced promising
measurable outcomes in the evolution of magnetic EEG/EKG-
guided resonance therapy.
(3) These outcomes have resulted in escalating demand from
returning warriors and veterans who are seeking access to
this treatment.
(4) Congress recognizes the importance of initiating
innovative pilot programs that demonstrate the use and
effectiveness of new treatment options for post-traumatic
stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual
trauma, chronic pain, and opiate addiction.
SEC. 3. MAGNETIC EEG/EKG-GUIDED RESONANCE THERAPY PILOT
PROGRAM.
(a) Pilot Program.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
carry out a pilot program to provide access to magnetic EEG/
EKG-guided resonance therapy to treat larger populations of
veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder,
traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, chronic pain,
or opiate addiction.
(b) Locations.--The Secretary shall carry out the pilot
program under subsection (a) at not more than two facilities
of the Department of Veteran Affairs.
(c) Participants.--In carrying out the pilot program under
subsection (a), the Secretary may not provide access to
magnetic EEG/EKG-guided resonance therapy to more than 50
veterans.
(d) Duration.--The Secretary shall carry out the pilot
program under subsection (a) for a one-year period.
(e) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
termination of the pilot program under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs
of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report on
the pilot program.
(f) No Authorization of Appropriations.--No additional
funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the
requirements of this section. Such requirements shall be
carried out using amounts otherwise authorized.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Miller) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
General Leave
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise their remarks
and add extraneous material.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I do rise today in support of H.R. 5600, as amended, the No Hero Left
Untreated Act.
There is no greater priority we have as a grateful nation than to
care for those who have been wounded in the service of our country and
to ensure that they are provided with the most successful treatments,
including those that are new and are promising to assist them on their
path to recovery.
H.R. 5600, as amended, would require the Department of Veterans
Affairs to carry out a 1-year pilot program to provide access to
magnetic EEG/EKG-guided resonance therapy to veterans with post-
traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, opiate
addiction, or who have experienced military sexual trauma.
Magnetic EEG/EKG-guided resonance therapy has proven effective in
addressing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic
brain injury among veteran patients. For example, in a 2015 study,
veteran patients experienced an almost 50 percent reduction in symptom
severity after just 2 weeks of using this therapy.
Though the pilot this bill would create is limited, I am hopeful that
it will provide the needed data to support the provision of this
promising new treatment for many more servicemembers and veterans in
the future.
This bill is sponsored by our good friend, Congressman Steve Knight
from California, and I am grateful to him for sponsoring this
legislation to increase access to innovative treatment for America's
heroes.
I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 5600, as
amended.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in support of H.R. 5600, as amended, the No Hero Left
Untreated Act. This bill is designed to create a pilot program in the
VA to determine if magnetic EEG/EKG-guided resonance therapy technology
is appropriate for larger populations of veterans suffering from post-
traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military sexual
trauma, chronic pain, or opiate addiction.
Under this treatment, a veteran's EEG and EKG are analyzed to
ascertain the brain's patterns of function and detect any possible
abnormalities. This information is used to develop a personalized
treatment for each patient aimed at restoring the brain to its optimal
state.
It is essential that the VA continue to explore new and innovative
treatments, like resonance therapy, that can offer breakthroughs for
veterans and servicemembers suffering from PTSD and other traumas. For
more than 90 years, the Veterans Affairs Research and Development
program has been improving the lives of veterans and all Americans
through healthcare discovery and innovation.
VA research is unique because of its focus on health issues that
affect veterans. It is part of an integrated
[[Page H6344]]
healthcare system that coordinates care for veterans and affiliates
with university medical schools and teaching hospitals to train our
healthcare providers and perform groundbreaking medical research.
I look forward to learning more about this treatment and its effects
on those veterans who have continued to suffer from the wounds of
combat trauma here at home. Innovative pilot programs and continued
investment in research will help to ensure that our Nation's veterans
get the high-quality care they have earned and deserve.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from the 25th District of California (Mr. Knight), the prime
sponsor of this important piece of legislation.
Mr. KNIGHT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chair and ranking member
for their support of this piece of legislation.
The No Hero Left Untreated Act is just that. We expect our young
warriors to protect our values and our ideals, and we, as Americans,
should do nothing less than to take care of them when they return home.
The No Hero Left Untreated Act is a new and innovative way of looking
at how we can treat our veterans, and I think that that is what people
in America are looking for. They are looking for how we can help our
veterans in new and innovative ways. Well, this is one of those.
This is a way that we have taken 500 veterans, we have given them
this treatment, and about 95 percent of them have said that they have
had some difference in their life because of the treatment. Sixty-one
percent have said that it is a dramatic change because of this
treatment. If we took those numbers and we took them to any kind of
treatment or any kind of medical help across this country, I think that
all of the physicians and all of the medical industry would say: yes,
those are great numbers.
So what we are trying to do here is we are going to put it into two
of our medical facilities; put it into two of our VA centers, and we
are going to collect some data on the enormous successes that we have
seen in the past and hopefully in the future. Then, I hope to come back
at a certain time in the future and say: this has been great; the data
that we have collected has helped our veterans, has helped our warriors
when they have come home. Let's put this across the country.
I expect that everyone in every district across this country, when
they see this, these types of successes, would want to put it into
their VA facilities. So that is kind of our goal in what we are trying
to do here.
Mental and physical injuries are part of battle. Treatment that works
should be pushed by our legislative bodies. It shouldn't be stagnated.
And that is exactly what this body is doing. We are looking at this,
and we are saying: this is working. Why wouldn't we push it?
I thank everyone for looking at this in a bipartisan measure and
saying this will help our veterans. Let's move this forward.
This therapy has shown enormous successes, and I think that when the
American people look at this and they say, we have got these successes,
let's make sure that we push this forward, I think that we should also
look at other treatments that might not be having these types of
successes and saying, you know what, we can do different changes, and
the medical industry, I am sure, would support that.
So that is what we are trying to do with the No Hero Left Untreated
Act. That is why we have named it that because that is exactly what we
want. We don't want to leave any hero untreated.
I appreciate the support from both sides of the aisle, and I ask for
support of this important measure.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I encourage my
colleagues to support this legislation and join me in passing H.R.
5600, as amended.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I too encourage my colleagues to
support this piece of legislation.
I yield back the balance of time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 5600, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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