U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is pushing for legislation that would help veterans and current military service members who are dealing with traumatic brain injuries (TBI).
Gillibrand stopped by the Veterans Outreach Center in Rochester on Friday to talk about people in the military who regularly fire heavy weapons and are at increased risk of brain injury as a result.
Gillibrand said these brain injuries can cause a variety of serious health problems, and she wants better screening by federal agencies.
“The legislation requires the DOD (Department of Defense) to enact better blast overpressure screening, tracking prevention, treatment and would improve transparency regarding the weapons that our service members use in both training and in combat,” said Gillibrand.
Matt Murray is a Veterans Service Officer with Monroe County and he’s also an Iraq War combat veteran who dealt with the effects of explosive devices, even after he left active military service in 2010.
“You’re trained to suck it up, drive on, come home, and with the PTSD and TBI, you can’t see these injuries,” said Murray. “It’s not a scar, it’s not a broken leg, a missing leg, a missing limb.”
Murray said the legislation that Gillibrand is proposing could also help the veterans he works with in the county’s Veterans Service Agency better document any medical issues they’re dealing with.
Gillibrand says her bill has bipartisan support and she is optimistic it will get passed by Congress.
