Saturday, August 26, 2006

Our Government Screws Wounded Vets

I sent the following letter to the Sacramento Bee and my representatives in Washington. Please contact your elected officials and press them to restore the funding for this important program. Find our more about TBI here.


I am writing to express my concern that Congress is slashing funding for the research and treatment of brain injuries sustained by American troops in Iraq.

Traumatic Brain Injury causes dizziness, vision, hearing and speech problems, memory loss, and even severe brain damage. Military experts say that one in ten new veterans, or more than one hundred thousand people, suffer from TBI. The 2007 Defense Appropriations bill, which totals close to $400 billion, gives TBI research and treatment only $7 million dollars -- half of what it received last year.

Congress should take immediate action to reinstate funding for this program. If the bill passes as it currently stands, we will have failed the thousands of wounded veterans who have sacrificed so much and served their country so honorably. Contact your congressman to support our troops by giving them what they need once they get home.