I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3390 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a report 
on the feasibility and advisability of establishing a polytrauma rehabilita-
tion center or polytrauma network site of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in Fort Bayard, New Mexico, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 4, 2011 
Mr. PEARCE (for himself, Mr. HEINRICH, and Mr. LUJA´N) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to 
Congress a report on the feasibility and advisability of 
establishing a polytrauma rehabilitation center or 
polytrauma network site of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in Fort Bayard, New Mexico, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southern New Mexico 
and El Paso, Texas, Veterans Traumatic Brain Injury 
Care Improvement Act of 2011’’. 
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SEC. 2. REPORT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF POLYTRAUMA RE-
HABILITATION 
CENTER 
OR 
POLYTRAUMA 
NETWORK SITE OF DEPARTMENT OF VET-
ERANS AFFAIRS IN FORT BAYARD, NEW MEX-
ICO. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
(1) The military population of the southern 
New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, region has grown 
greatly since the United States has been involved in 
military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and 
members of the Armed Forces returning from such 
operations to such region will require care at 
polytrauma centers as a result of their involvement 
with such operations. 
(2) The population at Fort Bliss in Texas and 
New Mexico is expected to grow from 9,300 mem-
bers of the Armed Forces in 2005 to an estimated 
33,400 members of the Armed Forces by 2012 be-
cause of the ongoing expansion of Fort Bliss. 
(3) Traumatic brain injury has become known 
as one of the signature wounds of service in the 
Armed Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan because of 
its high occurrence among veterans of such service. 
Many members of the Armed Forces returning to 
the El Paso, Texas, and southern New Mexico re-
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gion from overseas service in the Armed Forces are 
expected to suffer from traumatic brain injury or 
other forms of injury requiring treatment at a 
polytrauma rehabilitation center or polytrauma net-
work site. 
(4) A recent RAND Corporation study esti-
mates that as many as 20 percent of the veterans 
who served in the Armed Forces in Iraq and Af-
ghanistan have a traumatic brain injury as a result 
of such service, and many of these veterans require 
ongoing care for mild, moderate, or severe traumatic 
brain injury. 
(5) The Department of Veterans Affairs rec-
ommends that all veterans experiencing a polytrau-
matic injury be referred to a polytrauma rehabilita-
tion center or polytrauma network site of the De-
partment. 
(6) The polytrauma system of care of the De-
partment includes four polytrauma rehabilitation 
centers and 21 polytrauma network sites, none of 
which are located within 300 miles driving distance 
of Fort Bliss, White Sands Missile Range, or Hollo-
man Air Force Base. 
(7) The large military population in the south-
ern New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, region neces-
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sitates a new polytrauma rehabilitation center or 
polytrauma network site of the Department to deal 
with the significant hardships veterans residing in 
such region require. 
(b) REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress 
a report on the feasibility and advisability of estab-
lishing a polytrauma rehabilitation center or poly-
trauma network site of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs in Fort Bayard, New Mexico. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The report required by 
paragraph (1) shall include the following: 
(A) An assessment of the adequacy of ex-
isting Department facilities in the southern 
New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, region to ad-
dress matters that are otherwise addressed by 
polytrauma rehabilitation centers and polytrau-
ma network sites of the Department. 
(B) A comparative assessment of the effec-
tiveness of rehabilitation programs for individ-
uals with traumatic brain injuries in urban 
areas with the effectiveness of such programs 
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