IV 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 72 

Expressing support for the designation of January 30, 2025, as CTE (chronic 

traumatic encephalopathy) and RHI (repeated head impacts) Awareness Day. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2025 

Mr. FITZPATRICK (for himself, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. CLINE, 

Ms. BROWNLEY, and Mr. RESCHENTHALER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the designation of January 30, 2025, 

as CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and RHI 

(repeated head impacts) Awareness Day. 

Whereas chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is a progressive degenerative brain disease which appears in persons with a history of repeated head injury sustained 

over a period of years; 

Whereas, after decades of advancement in research related to 

repeated head injuries, in October 2022, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) formally acknowledged that 

there is a causal link between repeated blows to the head 

and CTE; 

Whereas repetitive head impacts (RHI) have been shown to 

cause damage to the white matter in developing brains; 


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•HRES 72 IH 

Whereas researchers have found that in brains with CTE, 

there is buildup of an abnormal protein, tau, in the brain 

leading to brain atrophy; 

Whereas tau buildup is also found in Alzheimer’s disease and 

other forms of dementia, and people with CTE may show 

signs of another neurodegenerative disease, including Alzheimer’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lewy body 

disease (LBD), and Parkinson’s disease; 

Whereas the risk of developing CTE is greatest with athletes 

and military veterans, who frequently endure repeated 

subconcussive blows to the head from playing contact 

sports or suffer traumatic injury from military training 

or blasting, but it has also appeared in survivors of domestic abuse and those with epilepsy; 

Whereas symptoms associated with CTE and RHI, such as 

memory loss, tremors, addiction, progressive dementia, 

depression, suicidal thoughts, impaired judgment, and 

paranoia, most often are present years or decades after 

the brain trauma or hits stop, but have been found in a 

patient as young as 17 years old; 

Whereas, currently, CTE can only be definitively diagnosed 

after death through postmortem neuropathological analysis; 

Whereas advocacy organizations, health care providers, and 

institutional researchers are dedicated to studying the 

causes and symptoms of CTE in order to enable parents 

and families to make informed decisions regarding the 

best interests of their children in youth sports and to develop an earlier diagnostic tool so patients may address 

these symptoms as early as possible; and 


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•HRES 72 IH 

Whereas the Patrick Risha CTE Awareness Foundation, the 

Chandler Kimball Foundation, the Mac Parkman Foundation, the Matthew Benedict’s One Last Goal foundation, the Zac Easter’s CTE Hope foundation, and many 

other organizations celebrate CTE and RHI Awareness 

Day across the United States in order to reflect on those 

lost to CTE and RHI, how to help those suffering with 

the disease, and most importantly how to stop the disease: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the designation of CTE and RHI 

3 Awareness Day; 

4 (2) recognizes the doctors and researchers who 

5 advance the study of CTE (chronic traumatic 

6 encephalopathy) and RHI (repeated head impacts), 

7 and thanks those who participate in research studies 

8 and brain donations; 

9 (3) recognizes persons who may be suffering 

10 from symptoms of CTE and RHI and their families 

11 and caregivers; 

12 (4) encourages the Centers for Disease Control 

13 and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes 

14 of Health (NIH) to publish information on CTE and 

15 RHI, in concussion education materials, and educate 

16 the public on the symptoms and potential contrib17 uting factors; and 


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•HRES 72 IH 

1 (5) encourages the people of the United States 

2 to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and 

3 activities that promote awareness of CTE and RHI. 

Æ 


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