Unproven Quackery MANDATED for US Vets!

H.R. 1017:
"To amend the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001 and title 38, United States Code, to require the provision of chiropractic care and services to veterans at all Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers and to expand access to such care and services."

This bill mandates the coverage of "periodic and preventative chiropractic examinations and services."

I wonder, How periodic? And what do these services prevent? And, uh... evidence?

Sponsors:
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] (introduced 2/12/2009)
Rep Boswell, Leonard L. [IA-3] - 3/4/2009
Rep Chandler, Ben [KY-6] - 3/4/2009
Rep Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [FL-21] - 3/4/2009
Rep Gordon, Bart [TN-6] - 3/4/2009
Rep Loebsack, David [IA-2] - 3/4/2009
Rep Michaud, Michael H. [ME-2] - 2/26/2009
Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] - 3/4/2009
Rep Walz, Timothy J. [MN-1] - 3/4/2009
Rep Young, C.W. Bill [FL-10] - 3/9/2009

Latest Major Action: 2/12/2009 Referred to House subcommittee.
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
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Here's an idea, Mr. Legislator:

SCIENCE!

Why allow a certain anti-MD, anti-vaccination cult a means of bypassing the rules of evidence that others must respect?

Legislating the notion that a medical claim about the body is true, or that some intervention has been proven safe and effective --when the evidence simply isn't there-- is a form of Lysenkoism. Lysenko's example illustrates how political interference in the scientific process can profoundly cripple a scientific community for decades.

Your health, my health, and the health of all Americans deserve no less than medical therapies tested according to sound scientific methods.

Please don't blur the boundary between medicine and pseudo-medicine. Please support the nascent but growing science-based medicine community in the United States by opposing H.R. 1017.
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If you enjoy Whack-A-Mole-ing nonsense, do visit the Library of Congress. More:

H.R.484
Title: To require the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a plan to provide chiropractic health care services and benefits for certain new beneficiaries as part of the TRICARE program.

This bill includes language to limit chiropractic services to chiropractors. Not that I care, but there are some medical doctors and osteopaths out there willing to crack your back, so this might matter to them.

Sponsors:
Rep Rogers, Mike D. [AL-3] (introduced 1/13/2009)
Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1] - 1/13/2009
Rep Aderholt, Robert B. [AL-4] - 1/13/2009
Rep Bachus, Spencer [AL-6] - 1/13/2009
Rep Barrow, John [GA-12] - 3/5/2009
Rep Bartlett, Roscoe G. [MD-6] - 1/13/2009
Rep Boswell, Leonard L. [IA-3] - 1/13/2009
Rep Brady, Robert A. [PA-1] - 1/13/2009
Rep Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [FL-21] - 3/2/2009
Rep Gordon, Bart [TN-6] - 2/26/2009
Rep Harper, Gregg [MS-3] - 2/3/2009
Rep Israel, Steve [NY-2] - 1/13/2009
Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila [TX-18] - 1/13/2009
Rep Latham, Tom [IA-4] - 2/12/2009
Rep Latta, Robert E. [OH-5] - 3/9/2009
Rep LoBiondo, Frank A. [NJ-2] - 1/13/2009
Rep Loebsack, David [IA-2] - 3/5/2009
Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] - 1/13/2009
Rep Paulsen, Erik [MN-3] - 3/5/2009
Rep Wamp, Zach [TN-3] - 3/5/2009
Rep Young, C.W. Bill [FL-10] - 3/6/2009

Latest Major Action: 2/6/2009 Referred to House subcommittee.
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.