John,

On October 25, 2023, a lone gunman attacked and killed eighteen people at a bowling alley and a nearby bar and grill in Lewiston, Maine, before taking his own life. The shooter was a grenade instructor for the Army Reserve. After his death, an examination of his brain found that he had extensive brain damage seen in veterans subjected to repeated weapons blasts.

This is a huge problem. 

Blast overpressure occurs when the pressure from a shock wave damages the brain by moving it inside the skull. It accounts for more than half of all traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in veterans and active service members. 

During just three months in 2023, the Department of Defense provided treatment to service members over 50,000 times for traumatic brain injuries.

Sign if you agree: Congress must take steps to protect our service members from the effects of blast overpressure.

The Pentagon has admitted that its safety standards regarding blast overpressure aren’t based on scientific evidence. Soldiers who should be safe by these standards have suffered traumatic brain injuries that irrevocably altered their behavior, causing hallucinations, seizures, depression, and thoughts of suicide. Nearly one in five post-9/11 veterans suffers from a traumatic brain injury, yet the Defense Department has done little to protect service members from lasting damage.

That’s why I’m working with Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Joni Ernst, and Representative Elise Stefanik to pass the Blast Overpressure Safety Act. This bill would take several steps to hold the Defense Department accountable for the health of our soldiers and veterans, including:

• Requiring an outside audit by the Government Accountability Office to detail what the DoD is doing to address the risks of blast exposure;
• Monitoring service members’ brain health through regular neurocognitive assessments, as well as blast overpressure exposure and TBI logs; and
• Enhancing efforts to mitigate exposure when acquiring new weapons and help service members affected to blast exposure access care.

We owe it to our men and women in uniform to address the dangers of blast overpressure and take action based on the evidence we have. 

Tell Congress to pass the Blast Overpressure Safety Act.

Thank you for your activism and all that you do.

In solidarity,

Ro

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