National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2007 -- (House of Representatives - May 11, 2006)
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Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5122. I would first like to thank the Chairman for including an important provision helping to provide access to health care for our Guard and Reserve members. This provision will, for the first time, allow all drilling Guard and Reserve members to purchase health coverage through TRICARE, the military's health care system. The provision will treat all of our citizen-soldiers equally, regardless of whether or not they were previously deployed.
This is an issue dear to my heart. Over a year ago, I introduced legislation in the House that provided the basis for the provision we find in the bill today. During my visits to Iraq, I had the opportunity to visit with U.S. soldiers serving there, including many Iowans. When I asked what I could do to help them, the overwhelming response I received was, `Don't worry about us, but please do something to help our families at home, who are dealing with the fact that we are separated from them every day.' In my conversations with these soldiers and my constituents in Iowa, it became clear that our Guard and Reserve soldiers wanted--and needed--access to better health care for them and their families.
We know that today, 40 percent of our enlisted Guard and Reserve soldiers and their families are uninsured. For soldiers who are deployed, family members receive temporary coverage under TRICARE. This coverage ends some time after they return, depending on the length of the deployment. Families that had health coverage prior to a deployment may be subject to waiting periods or exclusions for preexisting conditions when they try to return to civilian coverage. They are burdened with switching between TRICARE and private insurance, along with different hospital and physician networks.
This is an unacceptable situation for our Guard and Reserve soldiers, who are almost certain to be sent to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, if they have not done so already. Guard and Reserve soldiers currently make up almost half of our forces serving in those locations. Yet they cannot purchase the same health coverage that full time soldiers access for free. The Federal Employees Benefit Program (FEHBP) covers part time civilian Federal employees if they agree to pay increased premiums. At a minimum we owe our citizen-soldiers the same access to health care with a cost sharing arrangement.
Clearly the role of our Guard and Reserve forces has been transformed to play a central part in providing for the national defense. The greater requirements for sacrifice and service placed on the Guard and Reserve must be matched with greater commitment to them on our part.
We owe it to our citizen-soldiers to provide them with access to affordable health care. Providing TRICARE access during all phases of service will provide an important tool to bolster recruitment, retention, family morale and overall readiness for the Guard and Reserve.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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