[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5218-S5219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2937. Ms. WARREN (for herself and Ms. Ernst) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 4638, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for 
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which 
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        Strike section 711 and insert the following:

     SEC. 711. MODIFICATIONS TO BRAIN HEALTH INITIATIVE OF 
                   DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

       Section 735 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense 
     Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117-263; 
     10 U.S.C. 1071 note) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b)(1)--
       (A) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
       ``(B) The identification and dissemination of thresholds 
     for blast exposure and overpressure safety and associated 
     emerging scientific evidence that--
       ``(i) cover brain injury and impulse noise;
       ``(ii) measure impact over 24-hour, 72-hour to 96-hour, 
     monthly, annual, and lifetime periods;
       ``(iii) are designed to prevent cognitive deficits after 
     firing;
       ``(iv) account for the firing of multiple types of heavy 
     weaponry and use of grenades in one period of time;
       ``(v) include minimum safe distances and levels of exposure 
     for observers and instructors; and
       ``(vi) address shoulder-fired heavy weapons.''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
       ``(H) The establishment of a standardized treatment program 
     based on interventions that have shown benefit to individuals 
     with brain health issues after a brain injury and the 
     provision of that treatment program to individuals with brain 
     health issues after a brain injury resulting from a potential 
     brain exposure described in subparagraph (A) or high-risk 
     training or occupational activities described in subparagraph 
     (D).
       ``(I) The establishment of policies to encourage members of 
     the Armed Forces to seek support for brain health when 
     needed, prevent retaliation against such members who seek 
     care, and address other barriers to seeking help for brain 
     health due to the impact of blast exposure, blast 
     overpressure, or traumatic brain injury.
       ``(J) The modification of existing weapons systems to 
     reduce blast exposure of the individual using the weapon and 
     those within the minimum safe distance.'';
       (2) in subsection (c), by striking ``each of fiscal years 
     2025 through 2029'' and inserting ``each fiscal year'';
       (3) in subsection (d)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``or other remote 
     measurement technology'' after ``wearable sensors''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(4) Weapons use.--Monitoring activities under a pilot 
     program conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be carried 
     out for any member of the Armed Forces firing tier 1 weapons 
     in training or combat, as identified by the Secretary of 
     Defense.'';
       (4) by striking subsections (e) and (f);
       (5) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
       (6) by inserting after subsection (d) the following new 
     subsections:
       ``(e) Thresholds for Blast Exposure and Overpressure 
     Safety.--
       ``(1) Deadline.--
       ``(A) In general.--Not later than January 1, 2027, the 
     Secretary of Defense shall identify and disseminate the 
     thresholds for blast exposure and overpressure safety 
     required under subsection (b)(1)(B).
       ``(B) Update.--Not less frequently than once every five 
     years following the identification and dissemination under 
     subparagraph (A) of the thresholds for blast exposure and 
     overpressure safety required under subsection (b)(1)(B), the 
     Secretary of Defense shall update those thresholds.
       ``(2) Formal training requirement.--The Secretary of 
     Defense shall ensure that training on the thresholds for 
     blast exposure and overpressure safety is provided to members 
     of the Armed Forces before training, deployment, or entering 
     other high-risk environments where exposure to blast 
     overpressure is likely.
       ``(3) Central repository.--Not later than January 1, 2027, 
     the Secretary of Defense shall establish a central repository 
     of blast-related characteristics, such as pressure profiles 
     and common blast loads associated with specific systems and 
     the environments in which they are used.
       ``(4) Waivers.--
       ``(A) Protocols.--The Secretary of Defense may establish 
     and implement protocols to require waivers in cases in which 
     members of the Armed Forces must exceed the safety thresholds 
     described in subsection (b)(1)(B), which shall include a 
     justification for exceeding those safety thresholds.
       ``(B) Tracking system.--Not later than one year after 
     establishing protocols for waivers under subparagraph (A), 
     the Secretary of Defense shall establish a Department of 
     Defense-wide tracking system for such waivers, which shall 
     include data contributed by the Secretary of each military 
     department.
       ``(C) Report on waivers.--Not later than one year after 
     establishing protocols for waivers under subparagraph (A), 
     and annually thereafter for a period of five years, the 
     Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed 
     Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a 
     report on such waivers that includes--
       ``(i) the number of waivers issued, disaggregated by 
     military department; and
       ``(ii) a description of actions taken by the Secretary 
     concerned to track the health effects on members of the Armed 
     Forces of exceeding safety thresholds described in subsection 
     (b)(1)(B), document those effects in medical records, and 
     provide care to those members.
       ``(f) Strategies for Mitigation and Prevention of Blast 
     Exposure and Overpressure Risk for High-risk Individuals.--
     Not later than January 1, 2027, the Secretary of Defense 
     shall establish strategies for mitigating and preventing 
     blast exposure and blast overpressure risk for individuals 
     most at risk for exposure to high-risk training or high-risk 
     occupational activities, which shall include--
       ``(1) a timeline and process for implementing those 
     strategies;
       ``(2) a determination of the frequency with which those 
     strategies will be updated, which shall be not less 
     frequently than once every five years; and
       ``(3) an assessment of how information regarding those 
     strategies will be disseminated to such individuals, 
     including after those strategies are updated.
       ``(g) Reports on Warfighter Brain Health Initiative.--Not 
     later than March 31, 2025, and not less frequently than 
     annually thereafter for a period of five years, the Secretary 
     of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services 
     of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report that 
     includes the following:
       ``(1) A description of the activities taken under the 
     Initiative and resources expended under the Initiative during 
     the prior fiscal year.
       ``(2) The number of members of the Armed Forces impacted by 
     blast overpressure and blast exposure in the prior fiscal 
     year, including--
       ``(A) the number of members who reported adverse health 
     effects from blast overpressure or blast exposure;
       ``(B) the number of members exposed to blast overpressure 
     or blast exposure;
       ``(C) the number of members who received treatment for 
     injuries related to blast overpressure or blast exposure, 
     including at facilities of the Department of Defense and at 
     facilities in the private sector; and

[[Page S5219]]

       ``(D) the type of care that members receive from facilities 
     of the Department of Defense and the type of care that 
     members receive from facilities in the private sector.
       ``(3) A summary of the progress made during the prior 
     fiscal year with respect to the objectives of the Initiative 
     under subsection (b).
       ``(4) A description of the steps the Secretary is taking to 
     ensure that activities under the Initiative are being 
     implemented across the Department of Defense and the military 
     departments.''.
                                 ______