Sec. 770. Brain health initiative of Department of Defense
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The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretaries concerned, shall establish a comprehensive initiative for brain health to be known as the Warfighter Brain Health Initiative (in this section referred to as the Initiative ) for the purpose of unifying efforts and programs across the Department of Defense to improve the cognitive performance and brain health of members of the Armed Forces. The objectives of the Initiative shall be the following: To enhance, maintain, and restore the cognitive performance of members of the Armed Forces through education, training, prevention, protection, monitoring, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation, including through the following activities:
The establishment of a program to monitor cognitive brain health across the Department of Defense, beginning upon the accession of a member to the Armed Forces and repeated at regular intervals thereafter, with the goal of detecting any need for cognitive enhancement or restoration resulting from potential brain exposures of the member, to mitigate possible evolution of injury or disease progression. The identification and dissemination of thresholds for blast pressure safety and associated emerging scientific evidence.
The modification of high-risk training and operational activities to mitigate the negative effects of repetitive blast exposure. The identification of individuals who perform high-risk training or occupational activities, for purposes of increased monitoring of the brain health of such individuals. The development and operational fielding of non-invasive, portable, point-of-care medical devices, to inform the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury. The establishment of a standardized monitoring program that documents and analyzes blast exposures that may affect the brain health of members of the Armed Forces.
The development of a resource that would set forth specific criteria used in the awarding of potential grants for research projects relating to the direct correlation of environmental exposures and brain injuries to the brain health of members of the Armed Forces. The incorporation of the findings and recommendations of the report of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine titled Traumatic Brain Injury: A Roadmap for Accelerating Progress and published in 2022 (relating to the acceleration of progress in traumatic brain injury research and care), or any successor report, into activities of the Department relating to brain health, as applicable.
To harmonize and prioritize the efforts of the Department of Defense into a single approach to brain health, to produce more efficient and effective results. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report setting forth a strategy and implementation plan of the Department of Defense to achieve the objectives of the Initiative under subsection (b). In the budget justification materials submitted to Congress in support of the Department of Defense budget for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029 (as submitted with the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code), the Secretary of Defense shall include a budget justification display that includes all activities of the Department relating to the Initiative.
Not later than January 31, 2024, and annually thereafter until January 31, 2030, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the Initiative that includes the following: A description of the activities taken under the Initiative and resources expended under the Initiative during the prior fiscal year. A summary of the progress made during the prior fiscal year with respect to the objectives of the Initiative under subsection (b). In this section, the term Secretary concerned has the meaning given that term in section 101 of title 10, United States Code.