Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Current Bill Developments
The Heroes at Home Act has been referred to the House of Veteran's Affairs for deliberation. For the bill to pass, it must first pass through the House of Representatives, then the Senate, and finally be signed and approved by the President. As the media focuses more on the Health Care Reform Act, decision making on this bill may be on the back burner and news coverage deferred to health care reform. Media coverage of this bill has been low, but there have been a few published articles regarding the bill in publications such as Waiting Room Magazine and Veterans Today. As supporters of this bill, we need to increase coverage and awareness of this bill and encourage our government representatives to bring this issue to the forefront. According to the CDC, of the 1.4 million Americans who sustain a TBI each year, 50,000 will die and over 200,000 will require hospitalization; the CDC even recognizes that military service (serving as a paratrooper, for example) increases the risk for sustaining a TBI. It is clear that our heroes deserve the recognition and preventative health care this bill will enact.
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2 comments:
I think it is very important that the public be made aware of this bill and its importance. As our family and friends risk their lives to fight for our country, we the civilians see the issue of bringing them “home” as our greatest obstacle. However, to many, the repercussions faced by these individuals are not as clear. By spreading awareness of TBI’s, PTSD, and their strong correlation with our veterans, we can educate the people on the importance of this bill and why it should be supported. Through out your research, what methods of spreading awareness of this bill have you come across? What are the theories behind opposing such a bill?
Caity,
Thanks for reading our blog. We agree with you that sometimes, bringing the veterans home can become the greatest challenge. Education is the key to spreading the word about the lifelong consequences of untreated TBI and PTSD. To answer your questions, there has not been alot of media coverage on this bill. We have put tracking website links on our blog so people can see where the bill is at the current time; as said in the post, it has been referred to subcommittee and no new word has been released. There are some other blogs out there regarding the Heroes at Home act, and a few politial websites supporting the bill as well as tracking its progress. Opposition to this bill mostly comes from its cost. It will put increased costs on the Department of Veterans Affairs and it will be significantly expensive to begin educating the caregivers. However, in the long run, the health of our soldiers and the financial stability of their families matters most.
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