US HB6444

Secretary of Veterans Affairs must establish a Blast Overpressure Task Force within 180 days through the VA-DOD Joint Executive Committee to improve health care and benefits for veterans and service members with traumatic brain injury, PTSD, or other conditions from blast exposure

Task Force will prioritize translational research on sleep therapy, blast-related gut health, mobile diagnostics, vestibular dysfunction, autonomic nervous system dysregulation, cumulative mild TBI, and neuroinflammation

Task Force must establish physiological and cognitive performance baselines and monitor sensory decline (vision, hearing, vestibular function) and stress-related impairments among affected veterans and service members

Annual reports required to Senate and House Veterans' Affairs and Armed Services Committees, including recommendations on how VA claims processors should evaluate evidence linking conditions to military service

Task Force terminates on September 30, 2029