April 2008

Congress to consider military DC bill

Although it would not have the force of law, a special "Sense of Congress" bill has been introduced into the US House of Representatives, calling for the commissioning of doctors of chiropractic as health care officers in the Armed Forces.

The bill was introduced at the request of the International Chiropractors Association on Feb. 13, by Representatives Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Thelma Drake (R-VA), Ron Paul (R-TX) and Robert Brady (D-PA).

Congressional Joint Resolution 294 urges the Secretary of Defense to "take immediate steps to establish a career path for doctors of chiropractic to be appointed as commissioned officers in all branches of the Armed Forces for purposes of providing chiropractic services to members of the Armed Forces."

"Sense of Congress" bills are used to express the opinion of the Congress and allow the recommendations to go into official Congressional records but do not create or amend laws and are not enforcement. They require only a simple majority vote to pass and do not require the signature of the president.

The chiropractic profession has tried for decades to introduce legislation that would allow the commissioning of chiropractors as health care officers.

In an article published in the Aug. 1991 issue of The Chiropractic Journal, Terry A. Rondberg, DC, World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) president stated: "It is deplorable that the United States government allows such blatant discrimination." He said it was time military leaders woke up and realized they needed to put chiropractors on par with other health care providers. "We can't wait around for them to wake up by themselves," he warned. "We need to wake them up."

After considerable effort by the WCA and other chiropractic organizations, the Defense Authorization Amendment of 1992 was passed with a provision giving the Secretary of Defense the authority to commission DCs as health care officers. Supporters felt confident that the secretary would follow the spirit of the new law and change military policy to permit DC commissions. That never happened.

Over the next few years, the WCA lobbied for chiropractic commissioning and, as a member of the Chiropractic Coalition, continued to do so in tandem with the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) and Federation of Straight Chiropractors and Organizations.

In introducing the "Sense of Congress" resolution, the ICA reasserted the long-held chiropractic position that doctors of chiropractic should be commissioned as officers equally with other health care providers such as medical doctors and dentists.

"We believe that commissions are the only way to guarantee universal access to chiropractic services for all military personnel, and to provide for permanence for a chiropractic services program," said Michael McLean, DC, co-chair of the ICA's Legislative Committee. "In order to provide for significantly improved quality of care, to enhance operational efficiency and to address the spinal health needs of all military personnel, passage of House Res. 294 is essential and is a top legislative priority of the ICA."

The resolution states, in part, that "the urgent needs of military personnel in the field of operations include access to the widest possible range of health care options, especially in the area of care of the spine and related structures of the body ... access to chiropractic care through commissioned chiropractic officers will enhance the combat readiness of military personnel by offering a non-pharmaceutical option for the health care needs of such personnel; and ... the appointment of doctors of chiropractic as commissioned offices will make use of a highly skilled and trained pool of health care professionals and help to meet the growing demand for chiropractic care in the Armed Forces."