Category Archives: Politicians

Update: Bipartisan Appeal for Reauthorization of TBI Act

On Friday, December 21, 2018, “H.R. 6615, which reauthorizes appropriations for programs and activities relating to the study, prevention, and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI),” was signed into law by President Trump.  Officially called the Traumatic Brain Injury Program Reauthorization Act of 2018, the bill previously passed the House with a 353-6 margin and passed the Senate unanimously.  (Reauthorizations were also given to other key health bills, H.R.1222, the Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act of 2017, and H.R. 1318, the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act of 2018.)

Earlier this month, Congressman Pascrell spoke of the bill in House, “Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R.6615… I would like to thank Chairman Walden and Ranking Member Pallone for their work to move this important legislation forward.”  Following being signed into law, Chairman Greg Walden (OR) said, “These bipartisan bills… represent a continuation of the hard work [the House Energy and Commerce Committee] has done this Congress to protect and improve the health of all Americans.  From reauthorizing programs so we can better treat and understand congenital heart defects to increasing our understanding of traumatic brain injury, to improving maternal health outcomes… these bipartisan bills will have a profound effect of the lives of children, families, and communities all across the country.”

 

Trump Gives Credit to Caregivers

“Trump donates his presidential paycheck to VA caregivers,” read the headline on The Military Times website yesterday, May 17, 2018.   Specifically, the President’s quarterly paycheck of $100,000 is the first check that the President has donated to the VA (earmarked for the caregivers) and the fifth paycheck that he has donated to various governmental departments.  “President Trump understands the critical role of caregivers,” said Acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie of this quarter’s donation. Apart from financial support, caregivers support the health and healthcare of dependents and provide much needed social interaction.

Earlier this year, the “Trump tax cut”, H.R. 1, that passed in March, states that, “The [tax] credit [for caregivers]… shall be increased by $500 for each dependent of the taxpayer.”  A dependent is defined as a relative who lives with the caregiver, earns less than $4,050 annually and that the caregiver financially supports.  This is a description that applies to many brain-injured individuals.

Prayers for Senator McCain

As has been widely reported, Senator John McCain was diagnosed with brain cancer on Friday of last week.  As if having to undergo brain surgery to remove what were thought to be benign brain tumors wasn’t enough, now that they are known to be malignant, McCain can look forward to a host of symptoms.  These symptoms can include vision problems, seizures, difficulties with concentration and thinking, difficulties with speech, etc.  In essence, the symptoms of brain cancer largely mirror those of brain injury.  In fact, the National Institute of Health has published the results of a study that shows that there is an, “association between traumatic brain injury and the subsequent risk of brain cancer.”

Despite his medical issue though, McCain has chosen not to stay idle: “Just hours after news broke of McCain’s brain cancer diagnosis, the Arizona senator blasted President Trump amid a report that the administration decided to halt a CIA training program for moderate Syrian rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad’s regime.”  Additionally, his diagnosis has produced an almost unheard-of-now bipartisan show of support, which could perhaps open the door for further cooperation.

Trauma on Trumpcare

 

Update: Today, “President Donald Trump asked Republican senators not to leave town for their August recess without passing a health care reform plan that makes good on seven years of promises to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.”

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Since 2010, health care has been a top talking point for both general Americans and the American government.  Then, Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, was enacted without a single Republican vote.  Now, the current iteration of Trumpcare, H.R. 1628, has passed the House and seeks to pass the Senate without the support of a single Democrat Senator.  Increasingly though, it is losing Republican support*, as Senators wrangle with the idea on Medicaid cuts and other issues.  (According to a recent report, the bill would cut Medicaid funding for children by at least $43 billion over 10 years.)

Throughout the country, articles continue to show the need for Medicaid for many Americans, often showcasing the needs of the brain injured.  The website MyCentralJersey.com (part of the USA Today network) highlights a 22-year-old and his mother who spoke to members of Congress about the ongoing trauma that the family deals with, caused by an accident that occurred when the boy was 18.  “Many families… will face major health care challenges.  It is important to protect Medicaid to allow these families to focus on their child’s care and recovery,” said the mother.  An article published on cleveland.com highlights the care of a severely brain injured man who lives in a nursing home, but whose family worries he won’t be able to stay at the facility with the proposed Medicaid cut.  A New York-based newspaper notes a 9-year-old girl who survived a horse-back riding accident with the financial support of Medicaid.

Yesterday, Trump expressed his frustration on Twitter with passing this bill.  “Most Republicans were loyal…,” he wrote, as a criticism of those Republicans who did not express support for the law.  However, this statement appears to show that Trump is looking for support to him and party, when he should be seeking support and loyalty towards the American people.

(Notably, Arizona Senator John McCain underwent surgery yesterday to rid him of blood clots in or near his left eye.  While the specifics of his initial condition and the exact surgical procedure he underwent remains vague, it is concerning.  Because of McCain, the vote on this health care bill has been delayed.  It will be interesting, though, to see if McCain’s ordeal affects his views. )

* Yesterday, “Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) [a staunch conservative] and Jerry Moran (Kan.) issued statements declaring that they would not vote for the revamped measure.  They joined Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Susan Collins (Maine), who also oppose it.”  A significant amount of other Republicans have also not declared their support.

Wait and See

Based on his statements and actions, a Trump presidency with a Republican-controlled Congress may seem to be the worst election outcome possible for disabled Americans.  In a poll cited by CNN, for example, people agree that mocking a reporter with the joint condition arthrogryposi was the most egregious error that Trump made during his campaign.

However, those worries may not entirely be warranted.  Trump is a businessman and a television personality.  He says what will get him a deal, acts in a way to give him an audience and, in the case of the election, promises what will get him votes.  For example, one of the hallmarks of Trump’s campaign was his promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.  Since winning the election, though, “Trump [has] said he would [at least] like to keep the portions of the law requiring coverage of pre-existing conditions and children living at home under the age of 26.”  From what I can determine, Trump simply wants his name tied to a major legislation.  (He wants to keep some of the principles of Obamacare, but replace the wording with some synonyms, so that people will call it Trumpcare?)

As for the Republican-controlled Congress, it is good to remember that most people, including Senators and Representatives, are related to or have some association with a disabled person.  During the Obama Administration, almost half of the brain injury-related legislation that became law were sponsored by Republicans, specifically 8 of 20.  As I noted in the past, Republicans do care.  While Hillary Clinton may have won the popular vote, it is best not to presume that a Trump presidency will negatively impact those with a brain injury or all of those with a disability.

Tomorrow is Election Day…

In August, I posted an article “The Deciding Vote”, which discussed how gaining the vote of the disabled could effect the results of the tight 2016 Presidential race.  What I did not consider, though, is that some of those with mental disabilities have lost their legal right to vote.  “[It is] believed [that]… more than 30,000 Californians — and an unknown number of others in the U.S. — [have] lost their voting rights under state guardianship laws.”  (“A guardian is a person, institution, or agency appointed by a court to manage the affairs of another individual.”)  Given that the current polls show that this election is within the margin of error, these tens of thousands of votes per state could be of great import.

What constitutes a mental disability varies in each state.  For example, ALA [Alabama] CODE § 38-9C-4(7) states, “Persons with developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injury have the right to vote and participate in the political process, subject to applicable laws.”  About 30 other states, however, restrict the voting rights of those with traumatic brain injury and other neurological disabilities, such as autism and cerebral palsy.  For example, in California, “Five years ago, a judge ruled that a traumatic brain injury disqualified [a man, David Rector, from voting].”  (This year, after a trial in the San Diego Superior Court, David Rector regained his legal right to vote.)

To all those who have a disability that may be restrictive to others with the same disability, but who are legally allowed to vote themselves, I believe it is imperative to do so.  Show that your vote matters!

* Click to view a full list of states that have laws related to voting for the neurologically disabled and a description of these laws.

“Concussion. Oh, oh!” says Trump

Beyond commenting on the “softening” of the NFL, Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for President has essentially ignored those with brain injury during his campaign.  Last week in Florida, though, Donald Trump spoke of brain injury at a rally in Florida when, “a woman who had fainted [during a Trump rally]… returned to the crowd.”  Commenting on her return, Trump said, “That woman was out cold, and now she’s coming back.”  While there is nothing wrong with that statement, he then returned to a topic he spoke of earlier in his campaign: namely, he spoke of the “softening” of the NFL, with its new post-concussion regulations.

Through continual blows to the head, NFL players are prone to CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy).  Harry Carson, a former Hall of Fame linebacker for the New York Giants who developed CTE, said in response to Trump’s views, “Once the brain is injured, you [can] never recover… So to make light of it, there’s a certain amount of ignorance that’s there.”  Carson also noted that many children look up to and try to imitate the actions of NFL players, which may lead to concussions and other brain injuries in them.

Political commentators always note when a candidate changes his or her views on a topic.  Trump, however, has stayed consistently pro-neurological disorder on this subject.  This opinion, though, expresses a disregard for Americans, merely for his entertainment.

Disability Knows No Party Line

I have made a point to note Hillary Clinton’s positive actions directed toward American’s ever-increasing disabled population.  However, by doing so, I am not intending to be partisan, as the disabled vote is, “represented fairly equally in both parties.”  Donald Trump seems ignorant of the large disabled voting bloc with his only noted discussion on this topic coming when he mocked the disabled reporter, Serge F. Kovaleski.  As a whole though, Republicans do care about the disabled demographic, both politically and personally.  Today, I will note two of these individuals and what they have done for the disabled.

Conventions are Staged, Too

Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is not an athlete, but he works in athletics.  He is not involved in politics, but yesterday he spoke at the Republican National Convention.  And Dana White doesn’t have a brain injury, but he makes sure other people do… And it’s with the help of Donald Trump that he can do this all.

In a 4 minute speech, White used the knowledge he acquired from acting as a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promoter, to promote Trump for President.  He describes Trump as his friend, noting that, “Just for the record [he] has nothing to do with my business.”  (To counter that statement, know that the first 2 UFC fights were fought at the Trump Taj Majal, and Trump continues to host UFC events at his Atlantic City casino.)  He then goes into Trump’s three characteristics that will make him a great President.*

When UFC fighting first came out, in 1993, it was considered a blood-sport.  The description of the sport is not simply rhetoric, as, after time in the ring, fighters drip with blood.  Last year, Wanderlei Silva, a former fighter, claimed that the UFC fixes its games.  (World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. admits to fixing their games.)  However, if we accept the games as being fixed, that doesn’t make them any safer.  For example, the comparatively tamer World Wrestling Entertainment is being sued by more than 50 former fighters for the brain trauma they suffered in the sport.  Since the sport is essentially “fake”, being scripted and choreographed, the WWE is “directly responsible for wrestlers’ injuries”, according to the lawsuit.

According to a study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, about one-third of professional MMA matches end in knockout, indicating a higher incidence of brain trauma than boxing or other martial arts.  “The researchers [of this study] at the University of Toronto proposed introducing rules like in boxing where a fighter gets a 10-second count and evaluated after a knockdown. They also proposed more training to help referees to identify fighters who are defenseless or have lost consciousness so they can stop fights more quickly.”  This year, the UFC extended its partnership with the Cleveland Clinic in the “Professional Fighters Brain Health Study”.

Yes, the UFC is trying to better its sport, to prevent head injury thereby allowing athletes to stay in the sport longer.  Technically, Trump is supporting this investigation.  However, do you think that the man who likes to see head collisions in football wants to make the UFC safer?  Will the sport continue to be as popular if its rings are not filled with blood after a fight, thereby decreasing his game sales?  Assuming the UFC is here to stay, Trump needs to think about his point of view.  It’s one thing to except that a sport is going to happen, it’s a whole other thing to give it a place to happen.

(Currently, in combat sports, there is a call from some for fighters to toss away their gloves and fight bare-handed.  That call sounds awful and horribly unsafe, and would increase hand injuries.  For the head, bare-handed fighting is actually safer (safer, not safe).)

*First, White says that Trump has excellent business instincts, presumably talking about his instincts with the UFC – even though, as White said, “[Trump] has nothing to do with it.”  Second, Trump is a hard worker.  Third, Trump is a loyal, supportive friend.  Being a good friend is a great feature, but I’m not sure how it applies to the presidency, though there was talk about Trump buddying up with Putin.

Gun-owning, Disabled Democrat Speaks Out for Clinton

(Note: This article was previously titled, “She Walks, She Talks AND She Has Opinions”.  I now understand that this title could be seen as offensive to disabled people.  However, I did not intend it to be offensive.)

Last week, Americans, including all TBI survivors, saw something remarkable from former Arizona Congresswoman and TBI survivor Gabby Giffords.  Specifically, the women who had to relearn how to walk and talk just a few years ago walked herself to the podium and spoke to the country at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, PA.  During her speech, Giffords spoke of her support for Hillary Clinton and her proposed gun laws.  Beyond her speech though, Giffords said something that I think is an important, but often overlooked positive effect of something as horrific as a brain injury: “I have a passion for helping people [now]”.  (These words demonstrate her choice to favor action versus pity.  Given that, it would be nice if the press focused on her speech and her ideas, not the fact that she walked alone.)