The House Energy and Commerce Committee will soon hold a hearing to examine injuries that result in concussions, and not just for athletes and the military, Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., announced Tuesday.
“We often hear about concussions in the context of service members and athletes, but this problem goes well beyond the battlefield and the gridiron,” Upton said in a statement. “It’s a matter of public health as these injuries are prevalent in all ages and across the population.”
The hearing will include testimony from professional and college sports officials, who have fielded criticism for their handling of injuries that result in concussions, particularly for football players. But a formal list of those testifying wasn’t available Tuesday.
The NFL earlier this year settled a concussion lawsuit with thousands of former players worth $900 million.
Upton said the congressional hearing will examine concussions in general, “how it effects different subsets of the population, the short and long term effects, and other details critical to developing effective diagnostics and treatments.”
There will be testimony from the National Institutes of Health staff as well as military personnel.
The hearing will be conducted by the Energy panel’s Oversight and Investigations, Health, and Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittees.
