Legislation authored by U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) aimed at protecting young athletes from the effects of sports-related traumatic brain injuries will be sponsored by U.S. Senator Robert Menendez in the U.S. Senate. The announcement came today after Pascrell’s Concussion Treatment and Care Tools Act, or ConTACT Act, was featured in stories by ABC News’ “Good Morning America” and “The New York Times.”

“People across the nation are becoming increasingly aware that traumatic brain injury isn’t just a concern for auto-accident victims or soldiers in the battlefield. It concerns any family with a child who is athletically active,” said Pascrell, the co-founder and co-chairman of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force who originally introduced the ConTACT Act in November 2008. “Senator Menendez recognizes the importance of this legislation in protecting middle-school and high school athletes throughout our country. I sincerely thank him for introducing this legislation in the U.S. Senate and look forward to working with him in seeing this bill through the legislative process.”

“Our high schoolers playing in the state football championships, and all other high school athletes, should be able to focus on achieving their goals on the field, without worrying about a concussion that can affect them off the field,” said Senator Menendez. “As the National Football League bolsters its own concussion treatment programs, many parents are wondering if enough attention has been devoted to concussions in high school sports. Great strides in the prevention, diagnosis and management of concussions have been made in recent years. We want to make sure that the most advanced strategies are being implemented for our high school athletes.”

 The stories can be found at the following links:

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/teens-11-concussions-sideline-normal-life/story?id=9108028 (The video is titled “Concussions: Not Just a Bump on the Head.”)

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/sports/football/04concussions.html?_r=1&hp

The ConTACT Act will create a state grant program through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that will fund computerized pre-season baseline and post-concussion neurological testing for school sponsored sports.  Schools that enroll students from grades 6 through 12 will be eligible for the funding. 

The grant program would be authorized for 5 years and is estimated to cost $5 million in the first year.  It would require a report to Congress within 2 years of enactment regarding the use and results of screening technology.

The legislation will also require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convene a conference of medical, athletic, and education professionals to establish a set of concussion management guidelines for student athletes.

Congressman Pascrell originally introduced the ConTACT Act following the tragic death of Montclair High School football player Ryne Dougherty in October 2008.

The congressman first learned of the devastating effects of TBI in 1998 through Dennis Benigno of Clifton, N.J.  In 1984, Benigno’s 15-year-old son was involved in a car accident that left the teenager with severe head injuries as well as cognitive and physical impairments. He continues a number of therapies to this day.

At the request of his cousin, the congressman went to visit the young man. After meeting the young patient, Rep. Pascrell made a promise to Benigno to learn as much as he could about traumatic brain injury and educate his colleagues in Congress. In 1998, it was estimated that 2 million Americans had experienced TBI annually, and approximately 5.3 million Americans were living with long-term, severe disabilities as a result of brain injury.

Rep. Pascrell and then-Pennsylvania Congressman James Greenwood, a physician, held the first meeting of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force in June 2001. Benigno was among those who attended.

For more details on the congressman’s record on TBI efforts, follow this link: https://pascrell.house.gov/legislation/congressional-brain-injury-task-force

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