TBI bill honoring Pascrell will be part of government funding package

A bill reauthorizing the Traumatic Brain Injury fund and renaming it in the late Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson)’s honor has been added to Congress’s end-of-year funding package, likely ensuring that it will be signed into law.

During his nearly three decades in Congress, Pascrell was a persistent champion of traumatic brain injury research, spurred on by the difficulties faced by one of his constituents who suffered a brain injury in the 1980s. Before he died this summer, Pascrell had been the lead sponsor of the Dennis John Benigno Traumatic Brain Injury Program Reauthorization Act, which keeps TBI research and programs active through Fiscal Year 2029.

After Pascrell’s death, the bill was taken over by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch), Pascrell’s longtime friend, and got a new provision renaming the TBI program itself for Pascrell. The bill passed the House once before in September, and it’s now one of many stray bills that’s been attached to a stopgap funding bill Congress will likely pass this week to keep the government open.

“Bill Pascrell was a relentless advocate for the millions of Americans affected by traumatic brain injuries,” Pallone said last night in a statement. “Renaming these vital programs in his honor ensures his work lives on – helping families across the nation access better care and resources. This reauthorization not only pays tribute to Bill’s legacy but also strengthens programs that are essential for improving outcomes for individuals with brain injuries.”

The bill is one of two efforts Pallone is making to honor Pascrell; the other, which would rename parts of the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park after the park’s longtime congressman and champion, had begun to move through Congress this session but will have to wait until next session to pass.

Pallone, the ranking Democrat on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, also celebrated a number of other policy victories that found their way into the stopgap funding bill, including protections for consumers against junk fees, the publication of AI pornography, and sodium nitrate chemicals.

“I’m pleased that we successfully negotiated the inclusion of several key provisions in the government funding package that will protect consumers,” Pallone said. “I’ll continue to work to advance commonsense, bipartisan legislation that protects consumers and lowers costs for hardworking Americans.”