House Passes Pallone Legislation to Reauthorize National Traumatic Brain Injury Programs, Honoring Pascrell’s Legacy 

Pallone’s legislation renames the nation’s traumatic brain injury program after former New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. and reauthorizes critical TBI programs through 2030

Washington, D.C. — The House of Representatives today unanimously passed bipartisan legislation introduced by Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) to reauthorize the nation’s traumatic brain injury (TBI) programs through 2030 while renaming the federal government’s national TBI surveillance program in honor of former New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.

The designation recognizes Pascrell’s extraordinary leadership on traumatic brain injury, an issue he championed after meeting Clifton resident Dennis Benigno, whose teenage son suffered a life-altering brain injury in a car crash. Inspired by the family's experience, Pascrell founded the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force and spent more than two decades leading the fight for brain injury research, prevention, and support services."

“Naming the nation’s traumatic brain injury program in Bill Pascrell’s honor is a meaningful tribute to my dear friend, who believed people living with traumatic brain injuries deserved a voice in the Congress,” Pallone said. “His ceaseless advocacy transformed how our country understands these injuries and improved the lives of numerous survivors and their families.”

“Today’s vote is an important victory for Americans living with traumatic brain injuries and for the families who stand beside them every day,” said Congresswoman Nellie Pou (NJ-09). “I am proud the House came together to renew these vital programs while honoring the extraordinary legacy of Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr., whose decades of leadership helped make traumatic brain injury a national priority for the first time. I thank Congressman Frank Pallone for his leadership in advancing this bipartisan bill, and I will keep working with my colleagues to ensure it reaches the President’s desk and becomes law.”

The legislation also reauthorizes three federal programs that support traumatic brain injury research, surveillance, prevention, rehabilitation, and patient advocacy after their authorization expired in 2024.

Originally enacted in 1996, the Traumatic Brain Injury Act established the nation’s first coordinated federal effort to better understand brain injuries. Today, those programs help track the incidence of TBI nationwide, identify populations at greatest risk, improve prevention strategies, support rehabilitation services, and protect the rights of Americans living with brain injuries.

The bill now heads to the Senate.