{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/icymi-warren-secures-protections-for-servicemembers-from-blast-overpressure", "ICYMI: Warren Secures Protections for Servicemembers from Blast Overpressure", "2024-12-19", "2024", "2024-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "MA", "Elizabeth Warren", "W000817", "www.warren.senate.gov", "warren", "https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "ICYMI: Warren Secures Protections for Servicemembers from Blast Overpressure\n\nOne year after Lewiston shooting, Congress passes much-needed legislation in defense bill that builds upon years of Warren's efforts\n\nBoston, MA \u2013 One year after a shooting in Lewiston, Maine killed 18 people and wounded 13, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) secured bipartisan provisions in the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (FY25 NDAA) to protect servicemembers exposed to blast overpressure and provide them the necessary care. The legislation passed by Congress builds upon many years of Senator Warren\u2019s work to reduce blast exposure for servicemembers.\n\nThis provision includes major reforms from Senator Warren\u2019s and Ernst\u2019s (R-Iowa) Blast Overpressure Safety Act, which will:\n\nSupport servicemembers by permanently establishing the National Intrepid Center of Excellence to treat TBIs;\n\nEnhance efforts to mitigate exposure by modifying existing and future weapons systems to minimize blast overpressure;\n\nEstablish standardized monitoring, treatment, and referral guidelines for servicemembers;\n\nCreate an intensive, comprehensive brain health and trauma program to improve access to care after exposure; and\n\nIncrease transparency regarding blast overpressure safety during the weapons acquisition process.\n\n\u201cBlast overpressure has been devastating for our servicemembers\u2019 health, causing suicide, depression, seizures, and more,\u201d said Senator Warren. \u201cI am firmly committed to doing everything I can in Congress to protect our servicemembers from injuries caused by their own weapons and get them the care they deserve.\u201d\n\nFor over 7 years, Senator Warren has led efforts to measure blast exposure and develop protocols that protect service members:\n\nIn September 2024, Senator Warren hosted a forum with officials from the Department of Defense, brain health experts from Home Base, and a veteran who received treatment at Home Base about the importance of improving access to care for servicemembers, establishing a longitudinal study to better understand other health effects that may be connected to blast overpressure, and addressing the link between blast overpressure and suicide.\n\nIn May 2024, Senators Warren (D-Mass.), Ernst (R-Iowa), and Representatives Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the Department of Defense\u2019s (DoD) efforts to identify, prevent, and treat traumatic brain injuries (TBI) related to service members\u2019 exposure to blast overpressure. The GAO accepted this review.\n\nOn April 11, 2024, Senators Warren and Joni Ernst introduced the Blast Overpressure Safety Act \u2013 bipartisan legislation that would direct the Department of Defense (DoD) to enact a variety of measures to help mitigate and protect service members from blast overpressure. Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Representative Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) introduced the bill in the House of Representatives.\n\nIn February 2024, Senator Warren led a hearing on the impacts of blast overpressure on American service members and the need for DoD to better protect service members from blast overpressure.\n\nIn January 2024, Senators Warren, Ernst, and Tillis sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, asking him to provide updates on steps the DoD is taking to better understand and address the effects of blast exposure on service members' mental and physical health during training and operations.\n\nIn May 2019, Senators Warren and Ernst introduced the Blast Pressure Exposure Study Improvement Act, which would require more frequent progress reports from DoD regarding the longitudinal study and added two feasibility assessments to the study. They secured this bill in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 NDAA.\n\nIn May 2018, Senators Warren and Ernst introduced the Blast Exposure and Brain Injury Prevention Act to improve research on TBIs, speed up the development of therapies to treat TBI, and strengthen DoD\u2019s capacity to track and prevent blast pressure exposure.\n\nSenator Warren introduced an amendment in the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (Sec. 734) that required DoD to establish a longitudinal medical study examining the effects of blast pressure exposure.\n\n###\n\nNext Article Previous Article", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "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.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/icymi-warren-secures-protections-for-servicemembers-from-blast-overpressure"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8699758220463991, "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"}