[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 195 (Tuesday, December 11, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H10057-H10058]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6615) to reauthorize the Traumatic Brain Injury program, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6615

       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 ``Traumatic Brain Injury 
     Program Reauthorization Act of 2018''.

     SEC. 2. PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF INJURIES.

       Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 
     U.S.C. 280b et seq.) is amended--
       (1) in section 393C (42 U.S.C. 280b-1d) by adding at the 
     end the following:
       ``(c) National Concussion Surveillance System.--The 
     Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for 
     Disease Control and Prevention, may implement a national 
     concussion surveillance system to determine the prevalence 
     and incidence of concussion.''; and
       (2) in section 394A (42 U.S.C. 280b-3)--
       (A) in subsection (b)--
       (i) by striking ``393B and 393C'' and inserting ``393B, 
     393C(a), and 393C(b)''; and
       (ii) by striking ``$6,564,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 
     through 2019'' and inserting ``$6,750,000 for each of fiscal 
     years 2019 through 2023''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(c) National Concussion Surveillance System.--To carry 
     out section 393C(c), there are authorized to be appropriated 
     $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.''.

     SEC. 3. STATE GRANTS FOR PROJECTS REGARDING TRAUMATIC BRAIN 
                   INJURY.

       Section 1252 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     300d-52) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``, acting through the 
     Administrator for the Administration for Community Living,'' 
     after ``The Secretary'';
       (2) by striking subsection (e);
       (3) by redesignating subsections (f) through (j) as 
     subsections (e) through (i), respectively; and
       (4) in subsection (i), as so redesignated, by striking 
     ``$5,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2015 through 2019'' 
     and inserting ``$7,321,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 
     through 2023''.

     SEC. 4. STATE GRANTS FOR PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SERVICES.

       Section 1253 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     300d-53) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``, acting through the 
     Administrator for the Administration for Community Living,'' 
     after ``The Secretary''; and
       (2) in subsection (l), by striking ``$3,100,000 for each of 
     the fiscal years 2015 through 2019'' and inserting 
     ``$4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Burgess) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6615, the Traumatic Brain 
Injury Program Reauthorization Act, and I would like to thank 
Representatives Bill Pascrell and Representative  Thomas Rooney for 
introducing this important legislation.
  Traumatic brain injuries impact many families each and every year. 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report last 
month that found that young children have one of the highest rates of 
TBI-related emergency department visits.
  These injuries can harm the developing brain and have the potential 
to impact a child's cognitive abilities in the long term.
  Whether the result of a hard hit during a football game as a teen, a 
car crash in middle age, or a fall as a senior, traumatic brain 
injuries pose various and serious risks to Americans.
  This legislation reauthorizes the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention traumatic brain injury initiatives at a level of $675 
million per year for fiscal years 2019 through 2023.
  Additionally, this bill authorizes the National Concussion 
Surveillance System at a level of $5 million per year through fiscal 
year 2023. This is important in ensuring that we have adequate data 
regarding who is getting concussions, how they are treated, and if 
there are any trends.
  This data will help identify where individuals are seeking healthcare 
treatment, if they are seeking treatment at all. Additionally, we do 
not currently have national estimates of the number of individuals 
living with disabilities due to brain injury, and this system will help 
to establish such estimates.

[[Page H10058]]

  The Centers for Disease Control plans to conduct its data collection 
via telephone surveys and a pilot test to ensure that we will get the 
best data from a wide range of households. The bill also reauthorizes 
State grants for protection and advocacy services at the Administration 
for Community Living.
  These services protect individuals with disabilities by providing 
them with legal support, especially when it comes to their ability to 
make certain lifestyle choices, such as living independently. This is 
particularly important given that individuals who suffer from traumatic 
brain injury, such as concussions, may experience a disability.
  According to the CDC, more than 61 percent of children with moderate 
to severe traumatic brain injury experience a disability. We have yet 
to see what cost to these individuals and to society these disabilities 
convey in the long term.
  The culmination of the programs that will be reauthorized by this 
legislation provides hope to individuals and families that are affected 
by traumatic brain injury. We still have much to learn about the risks 
and the short- and long-term effects of traumatic brain injury, and 
this legislation will chip away at our goal of increasing knowledge, 
awareness, and treatment of traumatic brain injury.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 6615, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6615, the Traumatic Brain 
Injury Program Reauthorization Act of 2018, introduced by 
Representative Pascrell and Representative  Thomas Rooney. This 
legislation would reauthorize funding for Administration for Community 
Living's Traumatic Brain Injury Program, TBI, to fiscal year 2024.
  The TBI program provides grants to States to support activities, such 
as improving screening to identify individuals with TBI, building a 
trained TBI workforce, providing resources to families, and funding 
protection and advocacy systems for people with TBI.
  H.R. 6615 will also reauthorize programs at the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention to increase the incidence of traumatic brain 
injury and reduce the prevalence of TBI. These programs are important 
in improving our understanding of traumatic brain injury, and our 
ability to prevent and treat such injuries.
  Recently, the CDC released new diagnostic guidelines focused on 
treating children with mild TBI and concussions, largely based on 
research and surveillance efforts funded by CDC's traumatic brain 
injury program.
  Finally, this legislation also will reauthorize a new National 
Concussion Surveillance System to determine the prevalence and the 
incidence of concussions in the U.S. This is particularly important for 
improving our understanding of long-term consequences of concussions, 
as well as efforts to prevent, diagnose, and treat concussions.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6615, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), the cosponsor 
of this bill.
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 6615, the Traumatic 
Brain Injury Program Reauthorization Act of 2018, and I also would like 
to thank Chairman Walden and Ranking Member Pallone for their work to 
move this important legislation forward. I am grateful to House 
leadership for bringing this for a vote. I want to associate myself 
with the words of Mr. Burgess and Mr. Green.

  Mr. Speaker, I commend Congressman Green and Congressman Burgess for 
their steadfast work to improve our Nation's health landscape over the 
past several decades, and especially during Mr. Green's tenure on the 
Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee. How time flies.
  I would also like to give a special thanks to my colleague, Tom 
Rooney, who sponsored this legislation with me. Congressman Rooney has 
been a great partner as my co-chair of the Congressional Traumatic 
Brain Injury Task Force. Over 20 years ago, Mr. Speaker, we put 
together the task force on a bipartisan basis, and it is still going, 
and it is still very, very active.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for all he has done for 
Americans living with brain injuries during his time in Congress.
  I am glad to see this body come together in a bipartisan manner to 
support the work being done in our Federal agencies and across the 
country to expand research and prevention in the treatment of traumatic 
brain injury.
  Traumatic brain injury knows no bounds. It affects people of all 
backgrounds and every ZIP Code. We are only at the precipice of 
understanding how prevalent that is. The passage of this legislation 
will fulfill a very critical obligation to Americans living with brain 
injuries, including our servicemembers, our athletes, and our children.
  This reauthorization is especially important because it includes for 
the first time funding for the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention so that they can determine how many Americans have sustained 
a brain injury. This will give us critical insight into the problem.
  Dubbed the signature injury of servicemembers returning from Iraq and 
Afghanistan, TBI has continued to occur on the battlefield. TBI happens 
on the sports field as well, and we are working diligently to address 
this.
  We have come a long way to improve safety screening and rehab since 
we first talked about TBI two decades ago, but much more must be done. 
This legislation makes the right investments in our Federal and State 
TBI initiatives; provides those living with brain injuries the supports 
that they need, and when we are supporting the brain injured, we are 
also supporting their families. It includes critical increases in 
funding and modernizes how the government oversees TBI.
  Our legislation is endorsed by the Brain Injury Association of 
America, the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators, 
and the American Academy of Neurology.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with Congressman Rooney, the 
membership of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, as well as 
Senator Casey and Senator Hatch to send this legislation swiftly to the 
President's desk.

                              {time}  1400

  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6615, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 6615, 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.

                          ____________________