Warfighter Brain Health Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.9532 | Sponsor: Rep. Bacon, Don (R-NE)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Warfighter Brain Health Act of 2022
This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish the Warfighter Brain Health Initiative to unify efforts and programs across DOD to improve the cognitive performance and brain health of members of the Armed Forces.
The bill authorizes the Defense Health Agency to conduct a pilot program to monitor blast overpressure exposure as part of the initiative.

To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a comprehensive 
          initiative for brain health, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Warfighter Brain Health Act of 
2022''.

SEC. 735. BRAIN HEALTH INITIATIVE OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.

    (a) In General.--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.
    (b) Objectives.--The objectives of the Initiative shall be the 
following:
            (1) 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:
                    (A) The establishment of a program to monitor 
                cognitive brain health across the Department of 
                Defense, with the goal of detecting any need for 
                cognitive enhancement or restoration resulting from 
                potential brain exposures of members of Armed Forces, 
                to mitigate possible evolution of injury or disease 
                progression.
                    (B) The identification and dissemination of 
                thresholds for blast pressure safety and associated 
                emerging scientific evidence.
                    (C) The modification of high-risk training and 
                operational activities to mitigate the negative effects 
                of repetitive blast exposure.
                    (D) The identification of individuals who perform 
                high-risk training or occupational activities, for 
                purposes of increased monitoring of the brain health of 
                such individuals.
                    (E) The development and operational fielding of 
                non-invasive, portable, point-of-care medical devices, 
                to inform the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic 
                brain injury.
                    (F) 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.
                    (G) The consideration 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, in 
                relation to the activities of the Department relating 
                to brain health, as applicable.
            (2) To harmonize and prioritize the efforts of the 
        Department of Defense into a single approach to brain health.
    (c) Annual Budget Justification Documents.--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.
    (d) Pilot Program Relating to Monitoring of Blast Coverage.--
            (1) Authority.--The Director of the Defense Health Agency 
        may conduct, as part of the Initiative, a pilot program under 
        which the Director shall monitor blast overpressure exposure 
        through the use of commercially available, off-the-shelf, 
        wearable sensors, and document and evaluate data collected as a 
        result of such monitoring.
            (2) Locations.--Monitoring activities under a pilot program 
        conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be carried out in 
        each training environment that the Director determines poses a 
        risk for blast overpressure exposure.
            (3) Documentation and sharing of data.--If the Director 
        conducts a pilot program pursuant to paragraph (1), the 
        Director shall--
                    (A) ensure that any data collected pursuant to such 
                pilot program that is related to the health effects of 
                the blast overpressure exposure of a member of the 
                Armed Forces who participated in the pilot program is 
                documented and maintained by the Secretary of Defense 
                in an electronic health record for the member; and
                    (B) to the extent practicable, and in accordance 
                with applicable provisions of law relating to data 
                privacy, make data collected pursuant to such pilot 
                program available to other academic and medical 
                researchers for the purpose of informing future 
                research and treatment options.
    (e) Strategy and Implementation Plan.--Not later than one year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 
shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate a report setting forth a strategy and 
implementation plan of the Department of Defense to achieve the 
objectives of the Initiative under subsection (b).
    (f) Annual Briefings.--Not later than January 31, 2024, and 
annually thereafter until January 31, 2027, the Secretary of Defense 
shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate a report on the Initiative that includes 
the following:
            (1) A description of the activities taken under the 
        Initiative and resources expended under the Initiative during 
        the prior fiscal year.
            (2) A summary of the progress made during the prior fiscal 
        year with respect to the objectives of the Initiative under 
        subsection (b).
    (g) Secretary Concerned Defined.--In this section, the term 
``Secretary concerned'' has the meaning given that term in section 101 
of title 10, United States Code.
                                 <all>