Of democracy. Its absolutely for the mental for our type of democracy and its the engine of Economic Prosperity for economic growth. Thats why we invest so much in Higher Education and provide that opportunity for everyone. In the state of maryland, our goal is that 55 of all students have a college degree. You dont have that in other parts in the world. But other parts of the world are beginning to emulate the american model and beginning to catch up. We have to retain our supremacy in education and science and technology. Thats the only way that well win the future in the 21st century. President wallace loh, want to thank you very much and those at the university of maryland for joining us for this conversation about Higher Education. Appreciate your time. Thank you. It was a pleasure. On American History tv in primetime, three medal of honor recipients discuss their service in world war ii, vietnam and afghanistan. Hosted by the u. S. Naval institute at annapolis, maryland. It begins at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. Tom brokaw reflects on his career in the 1989 fall of the berlin wall in a talk of newseum here in washington, d. C. Friday night on book tv in primetime, ronald ross bottom talks about his book when paris went dark about that si occupied paris. No good men among the living and account of the war in afghanistan is told through the lives of three afghans. Walter isaacson on his new book, the innovators. They created the personal computer and the internet. That starts at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan2. Next a hearing on brain injuries with former nfl tight end, ben utech. He talked about memory gaps caused by numerous concussions he experienced while playing sports. The committee examined the link between sports injuries impacting the brain and whether they lead to ageing diseases like alzheimers. This is an hour and 25 minutes. Good afternoon. Today were going to have to be little creative because we are going to have a series of votes at 2 30. So what ill do is recess the committee and well go over and vote until the very last vote and well cast the vote at the very beginning of the last vote and then race back over here so that we can continue the hearing. Theres also some breaking news. Just an hour ago, the nfl agreed to eliminate the 675 million cap on concussionrelated claims available to thousands of players as part of a major lawsuit. And so, without objection, i will enter the nfls statement in the record. And part of what were going to discuss today is traumatic brain injuries, a bump, a blow, a jolt to the head or penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain, more mild tbis, more commonly referred to as concussions have been the center of an increasing discussion within the Sports Community in recent years as a growing number of current and former athletes say that they are suffering from memory loss and other impairments caused by repeated blows to the head. And, of course, we are seeing the tbis that are coming home from overseas with our men and women in uniform and the performance of their duties as well. The centers for Disease Control and prevention have looked at 1. 6 to 3. 8 million sports and recreationrelated tbis and they say that they occur in the u. S. Each year. Such head injuries are not limited, obviously, just to one sport. They occur in a wide range of sports and most recently we were reminded that of the story the New York Times with the graphic pictures of the games going on in brazil right now in which one of the soccer players was completely knocked out. Over the last few years, much has been done to increase awareness of the risks posed by sportsrelated concussions. And thanks to a number of partnerships and initiatives, research is underway to help us better understand the cause and the longterm impact of concussions and what we can do to prevent them. And these initiatives involve a number of organizations. So while were making progress, its important to note that much more research is needed. And to see all of the links to other things, such as alzheimers. And so today were going to hear from two former professional athletes who had their careers cut short due to concussions and now theyre going to wonder about their function in the future. Were going to take testimony from two prominent medical researchers who will discuss the latest research. And im going to give that privilege of introduction to senator warren after i turn to our great Ranking Member, senator collins. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. I very much appreciate your calling this important hearing so that we can better explore the relationship between traumatic brain injury and diseases associated with ageing as much as alzheimers, par kinsons and lou gehrigs disease, also known as als. Traumatic brain injury or tbi affects 5 million americans at an annual cost of more than 76 billion. As the senate cochair of the alzheimers task force, im particularly interested in the Research Conducted over the past three decades that is linked moderate and severe traumatic brain injury to a greater risk of developing alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia. One troubling study sited by the Alzheimers Association found that older individuals with a history of mod rale traumatic brain injury are more than twice as likely to develop alzheimers than our seniors with no history of brain injury. Those with a history of severe traumatic brain injury were found in this study to have a 4. 5 times greater risk. Finding a way to prevent and effectively treat alzheimers disease is among my highest priorities as a senator and has been a focus of this committees work. In many ways, alzheimers is the defining disease of the baby boom generation. If we are to prevent it from becoming the defining disease of the next generation, we must strengthen our commitment to research leading to a better understanding of this devastating disease. While researchers still have a great deal to learn about how head injuries affect an individuals risk of developing neurological diseases like alzheimers later in life, there is increasing evidence of a relationship. Women, even more than men, may be more likely to experience longterm symptoms, such as cognitive and visual impairments after sustaining a severe head injury. We know that currently almost two thirds of americans living with alzheimers are women. There are many Important Research projects being conducted on tbi and the link to neurological diseases. For example, the National InstitutesFootball League have embarked upon a 60 million 4year Public Private partnership to advance research that may lead to the improvement of tbi diagnoses through better Imaging Technologies and also improve treatment for those who have sustained serious head injuries. Indeed while those who have participated in Contact Sports are served in the military may face a particular risk for tbirelated health conditions, the leading cause of tbi among seniors is false. According to the cdc, individuals over age 65, had the highest rates of tbirelated hospitalizations and death. More research is required to establish definitively the link between head injuries and neurological diseases. But it is clear that this Important Research could lead to a better understanding of such devastating diseases as alzheimers, par kensons and als. This Critical Research could also benefit our veterans and troupes on the ground. Far too many of whom have experienced tbi and its painful lasting effects. Again, mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing. We have a great panel of witnesses and i look forward to getting their insights and learning more about the Current Research on this topic. Thank you, senator collins. I want to especially recognize kevin turner. Kevin was a star fullback at the university of alabama. He played eight seasons with the new England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1990s. Since being diagnosed in 2010 with als, lou gehrigs disease, kevin has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the disease and its possible connection to traumatic brain injuries. And so, kevin, we thank you very much for being with us here today. [ applause ]. Senator warren, if you will introduce two of our panel. I will do that. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. And Ranking Member collins for having this hearing today. I am pleased to have the opportunity to introduce dr. Roberts stern, and chris newinski, cocorrect directors of the Boston University for the study of traumatic enreceive lop thi. Dr. Stern is a professor of neurosurgery at Boston University school of medicine and he is the director of the clinical core of the Boston University alzheimers disease sender. He received his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University and his masters and doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from the university of rhode island. T before joining the Boston University school of medicine, he served on the faculty of Brown Medical School and the university of North Carolina school of medicine. Dr. Sterns research has led to more than 250 peerreviewed publications and has helped us to better understand the iskts of trauma and ageing on the human brain. Now, hes here today with mr. New win ski who is the cofounder and executive director of the sports legacy institute. This is a Nonprofit Organization thats focussed on addressing the issue of brain trauma through education, through policy and through research. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University where he played defensive tackle for the football team. And after college, mr. New win ski became a professional wrestler and his own experience in that sport with head trauma led him to cofound the sports legacy institute. He currently serves as an adviser on the Nfl Players Association mackie white Traumatic Brain Injury Committee and the ivy league multisport concussion committee. Chris has received numerous accolades, including the United StatesSports Academy distinguished Service Award for his work advocating for improving Safety Standards in sports. I am very pleased that dr. Stern and mr. Fowinski are here with us today. I know that will add enormously to our discussions. Thank you, both. Thank you, mr. Chairman. And its my pleasure to enter deuce ben utecht who is a former nfl tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Indianapolis Colts. And if i recall, you were on one of those teams that went into the playoffs and perhaps you can tell us the rest of that story. And dr. Jacob van landing ham is the director of neuro biological research at tallahassee Memorial Hospital and he is a professor at Florida State universitys college of medicine. So what well see, well start with you, mr. Nowinski and just go right down the list, what your written statement is entered into the record. So if you would just share with us for a few minutes and then well get into questions. Mr. Nowinski . Thank you if that are wonderful introduction, senator warren. Chairman nelson, Ranking Member collins and committee. Thank you for inviting me to speak today. Its a Nonprofit Organization dedicating to solving the sports concussion crysy through advocacy, policy and research. But i have a personal relationship with concussion. Tremendous concerns that i have increased my risk of developing into degenerative brain disease in the future. Its my hope that this hearing raises awareness of the urgent need for funding for research on traumatic brain injuries as well as the tremendous opportunities we have for the prevention of their longterm consequences. I never had a Second Thought about concussions or brain injuries until i was 24 years old. After playing Contact Sports in high school and then at harvard, i became a pro wrestler, known as a superstar with wwe. And i got to travel the world playing a bad guy or heel, known as Chris Harvard who creatively insult the fans intelligence and scheet to win. This is a character i played. I rarely cheat anymore. It was a performance to entertain our fans and it was a lot of fun. But in a match i was kicked in the head by my opponent and my world immediately changed. My head became throbbing, everything got foggy and most importantly i forgot the script. I couldnt remember how we were supposed to finish the match and that was terrifying. After the match, i was stopped by our athletic trainer, who asked if i was all right. I lied and i said, im fine. Even though the headache was killing me. The symptoms then expanded beyond daily headaches to include depression and sleepwalking and would not go away. I lied about my symptoms for five weeks thinking i was doing the right thing. I meant dr. Robert can who helped me understand that all the dings and bell ringers i had been getting over the years were actually concussions. So think that at 24 i was learning for the first time how fragile my brain was and how critical rest was after concussion and that i am now at higher risk for developing a degenerative brain disease. My ignorance cost me my career, cost me at least five years of my health with terrible post concussion syndrome and i dont know what its going to cost me in the future. But cte, chronic traumatic enreceive lop thi is what i fear most. It was named punchdrunk and largely ignored. We realize it affects weve known it affects boxers but now we know it affects other athletes, military veterans and members of the general public. We cant diagnose it in living people, we dont know how many people have it but early evidence indicates its not insignificant. At the brain bank, collaboration with the Boston University and Va Boston Health Care System led by dr. An mckee, 58 of the 62 brains of former nfl studied have been found positive for this disease. Athletes as young as 17. Dr. Mckee connected to motor neuroron disease. And want to mention having my friend kevin turner here in the room who courageously is taking on this issue. Ill defer the rest of my science to my colleague, dr. Stern. The we need answers quickly. We dont know how big this problem is. But it may be massive with 1. 7 million tbis a year, 3. 8 million ks and we have to recognize Contact Sports are constantly evolving and still dont know what the full life effects are of exposing children to repetitive brain trauma because the sports theyre playing now arent the ones we were then. And Football Players didnt hit each other in the head. Soccer wasnt as popular so dont know what the effects of headers are. Few women were playing Contact Sports so dont know these answers but it is a Public Health crisis so while we work to independently fund more work and applaud the state laws that have changed how we play sport, its not enough. We dont know, you know, one of the things i do wrestlers on concussions which is fun. Before they get into the ring they have to listen to me. We think we can train adults. We dont know if we can train children. The reality we dont know we have kids playing Contact Sports who dont recognize whether they have a concussion who will never have a doctor on the sidelines, that means with all the changes weve made cte will continue to be a problem for athletes and most certainly for our military veterans. A in initiative we announced today that we hope will help prevent this, we teamed up with the santa clara institute of sport, law and ethics on a campaign to educate parents and coaches on the risk of headers in soccer in high school joined by Womens National team players, former National Team players, brandi chastain, joy fawcett who won the 99 world cup along with dr. Cantu to say the reality is we dont need these headers to happen. The current guideline is ten, may start earlier but it shouldnt happen so to conclude, we must not underestimate the longterm impact of brain injuries. With 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 16 girls playing Contact Sports in america were putting a lot of children at risk and owe them greater investment into finding ways to effectively i minimize the consequences of this inevitable brain trauma. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Nowinski. Mr. Utecht. Well, first of all, thank you very much for this opportunity. It is truly a privilege to be here before you to speak about something that is impacting my life in ways that are very scary and unknowns that as a husband and father have put me in a situation where i dont know what my future is going to look like. As a river kid from a small town in minnesota, hastings, minnesota, i dont know how it happened but i found my way into the nfl. Six years i had an opportunity to play in the supe