Letter To The Honorable Daniel Inouye, Chairmen and Ranking Member Thad Cochran, Senate Appropriations Comittee and The Honorable David Obey, Chairmen and Ranking Member Jerry Lewis House Appropriations Committee

Letter

Nye Leads Effort To Fund Military Healthcare Research

Congressman Glenn Nye (VA-02) again took the lead in fighting to improve medical care for America's injured troops and veterans. On Wednesday morning, Nye sent a letter to leaders in the House and Senate, urging them to include $168 million for military health care research as part of the war funding bill that will soon be sent to the President.

Nye, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Veterans Affairs Committee, organized twenty-five Representatives from across the country to join him in sending the letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.

"This funding is critical to ensuring that our veterans receive the highest quality of care for illnesses and injuries resulting from their service to our nation, " wrote Nye in the letter. "As more service members return from deployment, we must be prepared to provide them with the highest standard of care, not only to treat their physical injuries, but also to adequately care for their psychological illnesses. Treating PTSD, TBI, and other service-related illnesses is vital to ensuring a high quality of life for our troops and their families, and to ensuring the preparedness of our armed services. "

Both the House and Senate have passed separate versions of legislation to provide supplemental funding for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Before a final bill can be sent to the President, Congress must reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation.

The House version of the bill contained $168 million for research and development of combat-related medical care, treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and combat casualty care including orthopedic research and regenerative medicine.

This funding was not passed in the Senate version of the bill-raising concerns that it may not be included in the final bill.

Negotiations on the compromise agreement are currently underway between the House and the Senate, and the House may vote on the final bill as early as Thursday.

The text of Nye's letter is below. A copy of the letter signed by Nye and twenty-five Representatives, can be found here.

Dear Chairmen Inouye and Obey, and Ranking Members Cochran and Lewis;

As you work to resolve the differences between the House- and Senate-passed Supplemental Appropriations packages, I ask that you retain language contained in the House version which allocates $168 million for research and development of combat-related medical care, treatment for psychological health and traumatic brain injury, and combat casualty care including orthopedic research and regenerative medicine.

This funding is critical to ensuring that our veterans receive the highest quality of care for illnesses and injuries resulting from their service to our nation. As you know, data provided by the Military Health System indicates an increase in the incidence of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and other psychological issues that result from distressing events and injuries. Our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan frequently experience attacks by improvised explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenades and other devastating weapons. Brain injuries caused by devices such as these require specialized care from providers with expertise in treating such severe injuries. Service members who are exposed to attacks using these types of devices not only suffer physical injuries but are also often seriously affected by the psychological conditions that come with them.

As more service members return from deployment, we must be prepared to provide them with the highest standard of care, not only to treat their physical injuries, but also to adequately care for their psychological illnesses. Treating PTSD, TBI, and other service-related illnesses is vital to ensuring a high quality of life for our troops and their families, and to ensuring the preparedness of our armed services. The House committee report rightly notes that the standard of care provided for our soldiers is in need of improvement; the House- passed language providing $168 million for research and development of combat-related care is a vital step towards providing the level of care that our service members have earned. For these reasons, I strongly urge you to include this funding in the final agreement for Supplemental Appropriations.

Thank you for your consideration and attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Glenn Nye
Walt Minnick
John Barrow
Tim Holden
Leonard Boswell
Gabrielle Giffords
Travis Childers
Tim Walz
Marcia Fudge
Frank Kratovil
Joe Sestak
Paul Hodes
Larry Kissell
Chris Carney
Martin Heinrich
Parker Griffith
Steven Driehaus
Health Schuler
John Boccieri
Gerald E. Connolly
Ben Ray Luján
Michael Arcuri
Mike Michaud
Jerry McNerney
David Scott
Eric Massa