Read the full stored bill text
ONE HUNDRED NINTH LEGISLATURE
SECOND SESSION
LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION 293
Introduced by Kauth, 31; Andersen, 49; Bosn, 25; Clouse, 37; DeKay, 40;
Guereca, 7; Holdcroft, 36; Lippincott, 34; Murman, 38; Sanders,
45.
WHEREAS, national veteran suicide crises data indicates that as many as
twenty-two veterans commit suicide every day; and
WHEREAS, traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder can
be causes of suicide; and
WHEREAS, data collected between 2000 to 2019 by the Department of Defense
of Active, Guard, and Reserve members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines
indicate that for all severities of traumatic brain injuries, a total of
413,858 service members suffer from traumatic brain injuries; and
WHEREAS, the number of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder varies
by service era but ranges from approximately eleven percent to approximately
thirty percent; and
WHEREAS, one of the many societal costs of traumatic brain injuries among
the veteran population in Nebraska are the large fiscal impacts; and
WHEREAS, traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder both
involve physical injury to brain tissue; and
WHEREAS, a tragically high number of veterans with traumatic brain injury
and chronic pain have become victims of the opioid use disorder epidemic; and
WHEREAS, current standards of care approved for veterans with traumatic
brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder focus on medication and
counseling; and
WHEREAS, additional treatments, vocational counseling, and rehabilitation
therapies exist that have been clinically proven to mitigate symptoms and
improve recovery when used alone or integrated with counseling. Additional
therapies to treat traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder
include physical therapy, occupational therapy, cognitive therapy, speech
LR293
2026
LR293
2026
-1-
therapy, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy; and
WHEREAS, hyperbaric oxygen therapy couples hyperbaric oxygen chamber
treatment, which promotes oxygen for healing and restoring injured brain
tissue, together with counseling; and
WHEREAS, access to a variety of treatments improves a veteran's
opportunities for healing and recovery; and
WHEREAS, the Veterans National Traumatic Injury Treatment Act, 2023 H.R.
3649, would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot
program to furnish hyperbaric oxygen therapy to veterans suffering from
traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE ONE HUNDRED NINTH
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA, SECOND SESSION:
1. That the Legislature strongly urges members of the United States
Congress to swiftly enact legislation to provide for veterans' access to
treatments for traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder that
include hyperbaric oxygen therapy, such as the Veterans National Traumatic
Injury Treatment Act, and any other legislation improving or authorizing access
to other important therapies and counseling, and legislation fostering research
and development of additional therapies.
2. That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Speaker and the
Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the President and the
Secretary of the United States Senate, and each member of the Nebraska
Congressional delegation.
LR293
2026
LR293
2026
-2-