The National Security Implications and Potential Solutions for the Unintended Consequences of the 1980 Bayh-­‐Dole Act on Brain-­‐Injured Veterans from the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Authors

Colonel Noel Christian Pace

Document Type

Note

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the “signature wound” seen in veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, from which the U.S. now has over 20,000 young veterans living with TBI. However, some unintended consequences of the Bayh-­‐Dole Act of 1980, a law designed to tap the “secret weapon” of federally funded research & development (R&D) to help the U.S. return to competitiveness after the recession of the late 1970’s, are now preventing these heroes from getting the treatment and cures they need. This article reviews the history of American academia’s close cooperation with the U.S. government in solving military medical problems from WWI through the Vietnam War, where those cures have now benefited millions worldwide. It then shows how this relationship has changed since the enactment of Bayh-­‐Dole Act, and then examines the Act’s current and future impact on U.S. national security and the all-­‐volunteer force. The article concludes that the Bayh-­‐Dole Act should not be completely repealed, but recommends some amendments be enacted in order to take better care of the 1% of the U.S. population that fights and sacrifices to protect the other 99%.

Recommended Citation

Colonel Noel Christian Pace, The National Security Implications and Potential Solutions for the Unintended Consequences of the 1980 Bayh-­‐Dole Act on Brain-­‐Injured Veterans from the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 4 U. MIA Nat’l Security & Armed Conflict L. Rev. 241 (2014)
Available at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umnsac/vol4/iss1/7