Legislative Update from BIAA October 2009
Here are the latest updates from the Brain Injury Association of America.
Health Care Reform Update
This week the Senate finance committee wrapped up debate on its version of a health care reform package. The committee now has finished debating the more than one hundred amendments offered to the bill. A final vote is possible next week, although the finance committee cautiously waits to hear the cost estimate of the measure from the congressional budget office.
BIAA will continue to monitor the situation as the legislation progresses.
Appropriations Update
Last week, Congress considered a measure, known as a continuing resolution (CR), that would keep the government funded into the 2010 fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2009. TBI related programs will be funded at FY2009 levels until the spending bills for next year have been approved.
The full Senate has yet to consider the Fiscal Year 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education spending bill that will provide the funding allocation for programs authorized through the TBI Act and for NIDRR's TBI-related research programs, including TBI Model Systems of Care.
BIAA will alert grassroots advocates when action is needed.
National Defense Authorization Update
As reported in a previous edition of Policy Corner, the Senate version of this year's National Defense Authorization bill includes an amendment that authorizes the Secretary of Defense to carry out a pilot program for providing cognitive rehabilitation therapy services under TRICARE.
As the House and Senate meet to debate the differences in the two versions in order to craft a final bill, BIAA has increased awareness among House members serving on the Armed Services Committee of the amendment and its importance to returning service members sufferring from TBI.
This week, Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. and Congressman Todd Platts, co-chairs of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, sent a letter to members of both the House and Senate Armed Services Committee members urging their support in preserving this amendment in the final bill. A copy of the letter can be viewed on our web site, or by clicking the link below:
http://www.biausa.org/elements/policy/cognitive_rehabilitation_ndaa_letter.pdf
