THE TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI) ACT OF 1996: WHY IT STILL MATTERS.
On a bipartisan basis, Congress passed the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Act of 1996 on June 27, 1996. Thirty-two days later President Clinton signed the bill into law, putting traumatic brain injury on the nation’s map for the first time as a serious, and potentially avoidable health issue. Congress had two intentions in passing the TBI Act: the first was to reduce the incidence of TBI; and the second, to improve access to TBI health services across states. To these ends, the legislation authorized federal agencies to conduct research and prevention projects and created federal-state partnerships to encourage the development of innovative state TBI health programs. Before the TBI Act was passed, we had limited knowledge about the extent of death and long-term disabilities resulting from TBIs. The Act authorized the CDC and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct TBI research directly and indirectly through grants to public and nonprofit private organization...