{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-efforts-to-protect-military-brain-health-making-improvements-identifying-remaining-challenges", "King Efforts to Protect Military Brain Health Making Improvements, Identifying Remaining Challenges", "2026-08-31", "2026", "2026-08", "Independent", "Senate", "ME", "Angus S. King, Jr.", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", "angusking", "https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/table", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), member of the Senate Armed Service Committee (SASC) and the Senate Veteran\u2019s Affairs Committee (SVAC), is continuing to push for research into the traumatic effects of blast overpressure on servicemembers during and after their time in the military. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a study that reviews Department of Defense (DOD) actions to assess, monitor, and improve the health risks posed by blast overpressure on troops operating heavy weapons. The report was issued after Senator King worked to include it in the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which codified his Blast Overpressure Safety Act.\n\nWhile the study concludes that \u201cDOD has taken critical steps to prevent and mitigate service members\u2019 exposures,\u201d it identifies root causes behind shortfalls in monitoring servicemembers\u2019 brain health \u2013 including the shortage of industrial hygienists who can conduct the sophisticated tests that can help unit commanders and medical personnel evaluate and track the injuries.\n\n\u201cFor years I have said that you cannot fix a problem unless you can measure it,\u201d said Senator King. \u201cThanks to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) survey, we now have more information and metrics to track progress in addressing this invisible danger that has been lurking for years. We have seen the tragic consequences that result when these blast overpressure symptoms go unnoticed or untreated, and it\u2019s work like this that will make the difference, improve the health of our service members, and likely save lives.\u201d\n\nIn addition to the specific finding of an insufficient number of medically-trained staff, the report surveyed five factors that are playing a part in addressing and improving the mental health threat posed by blast overpressure. Awareness, military hierarchy, unit culture, access to care, and the nature of interactions with health care providers were all singled out by participants as playing a role in confronting this problem among America\u2019s military.\n\nFollowing the 2023 Lewiston shooting, Senator King has been working with his colleagues to increase mental health funding and address brain injuries. In a SASC hearing last year, King spoke with top DOD officials about the importance of addressing brain injuries in servicemember and veterans caused by repeated exposure to weapon blasts. In 2024, he wrote a letter to Department of Defense (DoD) urging the Department to expedite protection of servicemembers from weapon blasts and TBIs. Prior to that letter he urged leaders of the Appropriations Committee to support the strongest possible funding for the Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health Research program within the DoD Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDRMP).\n\nSenator King introduced Precision Brain Health Research Act of 2025 to study impacts of lower-intensity weapon blasts on veteran mental health. The Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act codified the core provisions of the Blast Overpressure Safety Act introduced in 2025 by Senator Elizabeth Warren and co-sponsored by Senator King. The Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act implemented additional monitoring and audit requirements. The Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that passed out of the Senate Armed Services Committee directs further oversight on implementing monitoring blast overpressure.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-01T09:48:49Z", "2026-09-01T09:49:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-efforts-to-protect-military-brain-health-making-improvements-identifying-remaining-challenges"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0893589351326227, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}