Washington, DC - Today on Capitol Hill, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) joined with advocates for wounded soldiers and their families to announce a new legislative initiative, co-sponsored by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), to improve the detection, assessment and treatment of traumatic brain injury and expand support systems for members and former members of the Armed Services with traumatic brain injury and their families. Senator Clinton also announced introduction of legislation to help ensure wounded soldiers receive the disability benefits they need and deserve and to further protect military family financial benefits. Senator Clinton was joined by Sergeant Ted Wade U.S Army 82nd Airborne Division, who incurred a severe traumatic brain injury and his wife Sarah Wade of Chapel Hill, NC; Lee Woodruff, TBI caregiver and co-author with husband Bob Woodruff of New York Times bestseller In An Instant; Dr. Bert Vargas, a resident at New York University School of Medicine who served as an Air Force flight surgeon in Iraq and leadership from the Wounded Warrior Project, the Military Officers Association of America, the National Military Family Association, the Brain Injury Association of America and the American Academy of Neurology.

"If you serve your country your country must serve you. This is the promise our country must keep to the men and women who enlist, who fight and who return home often bearing the visible and invisible scars of sacrifice. We have a duty to reform and ready the military for the increasing number of veterans suffering from complex injuries like traumatic brain injury. Today we are taking steps needed to ensure our men and women in uniform and their families have the care and support they need and deserve," said Senator Clinton.

Senator Clinton today introduced legislation to build on the groundbreaking "Heroes at Home" initiative she authored and secured in law last year aimed at helping U.S. troops and their families to transition after deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan and get the help they need with readjustment to work and coping with post-traumatic stress disorder and TBI. Today, Senator Clinton announced a new initiative to expand Heroes at Home by:

• Improving the screening process for our troops before deployment to improve TBI diagnoses after deployment. Traumatic brain injury, which affects approximately one out of every 10 returning servicemembers, has been identified as the "signature wound" affecting soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Multiple deployments and prevalent use of IEDs have put servicemembers at increased risk of sustaining more than one mild or moderate TBI. However, mild and moderate TBI may go undetected, especially if a servicemember has sustained more obvious injuries. It also can be difficult to distinguish mild TBI from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder since both conditions have common symptoms, such as irritability, anxiety and depression. Senator Clinton's bill will improve detection of mild and moderate TBI by implementing an objective, computer-based assessment protocol to measure cognitive functioning both prior to and after deployment. Senator Clinton's bill will require that the same assessment tool be used across all branches of the Armed Services and for every member of the Armed Forces who will be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

• Helping families struggling to take care of a loved one with training and certification for dealing with brain injuries and psychological injuries. Family members of returning soldiers with TBI are often ill-equipped to handle the demands of caring for their loved one, which in some bases can become a full-time responsibility. Senator Clinton's bill will establish a Traumatic Brain Injury Family Caregiver Personal Care Attendant Training and Certification Program, which would train and certify family caregivers of TBI patients as personal care attendants, enabling them to provide quality care at home and at the same time qualify for compensation from the VA.

• Expanding Access to Needed Care. Servicemembers and veterans continue to face problems in accessing needed medical and mental health care, especially veterans or Guard and Reserve members who live in rural areas. Senator Clinton's bill will help increase the reach of needed care for TBI by expanding use of telehealth and telemental health services. Senator Clinton's bill will create a demonstration project, administered jointly by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs that would use telehealth technology to assess TBI and related mental health conditions and facilitate rehabilitation and dissemination of educational material on techniques, strategies and skills for servicemembers with TBI.

"The proposals in this legislation were built on the recommendations of family caregivers now tending to the wounds of their loved ones who have incurred Traumatic Brain Injuries on our nation's behalf. Senator Clinton and the Wounded Warrior Project have listened to these families and their requests for help and we applaud her for her leadership on this legislation. We stand committed to assisting the Senator in seeing this bill through to enactment," said John Melia, Executive Director of the Wounded Warrior Project.

The Heroes at Home Act of 2007 is endorsed by the Wounded Warrior Project, National Military Families Association, Military Officers Association of America, American Academy of Neurology and Brain Injury Association of America.

Senator Clinton today also announced introduction of legislation to help ensure wounded soldiers receive the disability benefits they need and deserve and to further protect military family financial benefits:

• Restoring Disability Benefits for Injured and Wounded Warriors Act of 2007. Following up on complaints she heard from New York soldiers at Walter Reed about widespread problems with disability claims, Senator Clinton today introduced legislation that will restore disability benefits for wounded and injured members of the Armed Forces. The act will direct reviews of disability claims, traumatic injury claims and the Physical Evaluation Board process, and re-open cases that warrant an increased disability benefit rating or traumatic injury payment. In addition, the bill will increase the availability of legal counsel for members appealing their disability cases, and direct the GAO to investigate efforts currently being made by the Department of Defense to address deficiencies in the Disability Evaluation Systems; the adequacy of the Department of Veterans Affairs Disability Schedule for Ratings as it relates to the nature of wounds our warriors suffer in combat today; and to report on the standards and procedures of Physical Evaluation Boards.

• Protecting Military Family Financial Benefits Act of 2007. Senator Clinton also introduced legislation that will protect financial benefits for military family members by closing gaps in coverage for Death Gratuity and Survivor Benefits beneficiaries and improve pre-deployment counseling and services for all members of the Armed Forces. Everyday single parents deploy to distant battlefields and leave their minor children in the care of a financially ill-prepared guardian or caretaker. Unfortunately, when tragedy strikes and a military servicemember makes the ultimate sacrifice, minor dependent children and families are excluded from receiving benefits and entitlements. In too many cases, pre-deployment systems and processes designed to protect military family financial benefits are under-resourced or not available and create unnecessary burden for survivors. Senator Clinton's bill will require each military service to provide adequate pre-deployment counseling and services to every deploying member of the Armed Forces to ensure that families and dependents receive survivor benefits and entitlements.

These bills are supported by the Wounded Warrior Project, National Military Families Association, Military Officers Association of America, American Legion and the Gold Star Mothers.

As New York's first Senator to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Clinton has made it one of her top priorities to ensure that our brave men and women in uniform have the healthcare and support they need. She has pressed for an independent investigation of the conditions at Walter Reed and called for a new GI Bill of Rights to once again honor the service and invest in the future of our men and women in uniform. She authored legislation signed into law last year that required an audit of widespread pay issues wounded soldiers are facing, recently released by the Army showing continuing problems. Senator Clinton has fought to ensure servicemembers have the body armor they need. She has also secured in law access to TRICARE military health benefits for all drilling members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families.

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