Veterans Traumatic Brain Injury Care Improvement Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4276, as amended, would require the Department of Veterans Affairs, beginning in January, to provide reports to Congress on the pilot program for assisted living services for veterans with traumatic brain injury.

With passage of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act earlier this year, we were able to extend this important program for another 3 years. As of June 1 of this year, 187 veterans from 46 different facilities in 22 States have been enrolled for services.

These are severely injured veterans who still want to live within their communities. For that reason, this bill also amends the definition of ``assisted living'' to encompass community-based brain injury residential rehabilitative care.

Too often, pilot programs are initiated and abandoned by the VA with little reporting or data analysis as to the effectiveness or efficiency of the program. That is why this bill is important.

It would require the Secretary to provide quarterly reports to Congress on utilization, status, and veteran satisfaction as well as interim assessments as to the success of the program and recommendations for improvement.

It would also require a final report as to how the VA would expect to continue or integrate this pilot into other services that are vital for enhancing the quality of life for those veterans suffering from what has been called one of the signature wounds of recent conflicts, traumatic brain injury, or TBI.

I am grateful to Representative Bill Cassidy, my friend and colleague from Louisiana, for his leadership in introducing this legislation, and I am proud to join him in supporting it.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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