Warrior Brain Health Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.8141 | Sponsor: Rep. Bacon, Don (R-NE)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Warrior 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.
DOD must submit a report to Congress setting forth a strategy and implementation plan to achieve the objectives of the initiative. Additionally, DOD must include a budget justification display for activities relating to the initiative in budget justification materials submitted for FY2025-FY2029.

To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish an initiative to unify 
 efforts and programs across the Department of Defense to improve the 
cognitive performance and brain health of members of the Armed Forces, 
                        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 ``Warrior Brain Health Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. 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, 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.
                    (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 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.
                    (H) 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.
            (2) 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.
    (c) 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 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).
    (d) 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.
    (e) Annual Reports.--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:
            (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).
    (f) 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.
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