Senate bill contains military blast protection spurred by Lewiston mass shooting [Video]

A major federal defense bill advanced by a Senate committee Friday includes an initiative spurred by the Lewiston mass shooting that aims to protect military members from brain injuries caused by blast exposures.

Maine’s congressional delegation has supported the proposal, known as the Blast Overpressure Safety Act. Its inclusion in the Senate’s broader defense bill is seen as a big step forward for the measure.

“The whole idea is to focus on what we now know is a serious problem, how we do this (blast) training, and also how we manufacture the weapons themselves,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said in an interview after a key committee vote Friday. “This is one of the very major steps. We feel good about this provision already being in the bill.”

However, the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act – which cleared the House on Friday in a partisan vote – does …