Press Conference - Tricare Health Benefits for the Guard and Reserves

Federal News Service

HEADLINE: PRESS CONFERENCE RE: TRICARE HEALTH BENEFITS FOR THE GUARD AND RESERVES

PARTICIPANTS: SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC); SENATE MINORITY LEADER TOM DASCHLE (D-SD); AND SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY)

LOCATION: SENATE RADIOTV GALLERY, THE CAPITOL, WASHINGTON, D.C.

BODY:
SEN. GRAHAM: This time last year we tried to get this amendment adopted; we got 85 votes. We negotiated a compromise that dealt with only the uninsured. This effort has been going on for a couple of years, a year and a half now. Senator Clinton was the first person to sign on the bill that I authored. Senator Daschle had a bill very similar; we joined forces last year.

It looks like about three-fourths of the Senate has spoken again, and here's what they're saying to the Guard and Reserve community: Thank you. We're going to improve your lot in life because you're doing so much to serve your country. You have a problem. Full-time health care is not available to you from the military. We're going to make it available to you. You're going to pay a premium for that service until you're activated, then it will be just like your active duty counterparts.

The reason 75 people, 76 people voted "yes" is because when they go home, regardless of whether they're a Republican from South Carolina or a Democrat from New York or a Republican-excuse me; I'm sorry! -- (laughter) -- a Democrat from South Dakota-it's been a long day-you hear the same story. And this idea about affording it really offends me. There are bridges that cost more than this whole program per year. Just look at it as a road project. Maybe I should have said that and we'd have got a hundred votes. It's $1 billion a year for a five-year period, give or take a little bit.

Twenty-five percent of the people in the Guard and Reserves, when called to active duty, are unable to go on active duty because of health care problems. What does that tell you? That tells you that the current health care regime for the Guard and Reserve force is not working because one out of four are not able or not fit to fight.

Number two, what does it tell you? That if you're a part-time federal government employee, you have access to federal government health care. If you work in our offices 16 hours a week as a part- time employee, or you're a temporary employee and you work one year working less than 16 hours a week, you're eligible for federal government health care. If you're a part-time citizen soldier who's got a really unique job that can cost you your life, you get zero.

Today three-fourths of the Senate said that's unacceptable and we're going to fix it. Not only can we afford it, we must do it.

And I am very proud to have joined in a bipartisan manner to do something constructive. This place has gotten dysfunctional. We're thinking of too many reasons to disagree. There are people out there who are fighting and dying, and nobody asks them if they're a Republican or Democrat; all they want to know, are you an American? And if you are, they want to kill you.

So I'm proud to be here with Senator Daschle and Clinton in a bipartisan manner to say to the troops, thank you, and help is on the way for your families.

SEN. DASCHLE: Well, you just can't say it better than that. I'm proud, too. This is an important moment.

It gave us the opportunity once again on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis to say that while you are defending your country, while you continue to support your country, your country is going to find a better way to say we support you, too. We support the recognition of the need that you have for confidence in health care while you fight for us.

That in essence is what we're doing here, is simply providing the kind of safety net, the confidence, the reassurance that these families are going to be cared for when their families are sick or when they have needs for health care. And that's in essence what the amendment did.

And as Senator Graham said so well, to those who say we can't afford it, I would simply say we can't afford not to do it. This is two-tenths of 1 percent of the entire defense budget.

We are going to be voting on an amendment this afternoon for $25 billion more in our presence for Iraq, in support of Iraq and the efforts there as well as support for our military. I'm going to vote for that amendment, but nobody's asking whether we can afford that amendment. And they shouldn't; we have to do it, it's the right thing to do. Nobody should be asking can we afford that two-tenths of 1 percent to do the right thing for our members of the Guard and Reserves.

It's right because it's needed, it's right because we recognize the need for retention in the Guard and Reserves, and it's right because we have to establish some level of fairness when we ask men and women to defend their country, to die for their country, if necessary, when we call them into duty as we have today.

SEN. CLINTON: I think you can tell we feel very strongly about this. And ever since I stood with Senator Graham more than a year ago, I have been deluged with stories from Guard and Reserve members and their families about the lack of health insurance.

So this is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do. It is part of our need to be committed to readiness for all of our potential forces. And we now are approaching 45 percent of our forces in Iraq being Guard and Reserve.

And, as Senator Graham said, 25 percent of them, when activated, have not been ready to be deployed. So we're doing the right thing here, but we're also doing what's smart for our national defense.

And I really appreciate the leadership of both Senator Graham and Senator Daschle, and the extremely strong bipartisan vote that we got today, which sends a signal to the country, to Guard and Reserve members, to their families. And also I have to add, to the Pentagon, that this is one of those issues that the Congress feels very strongly about because it's something we hear about on a weekly basis from the people we represent.

SEN. GRAHAM: Questions?

SEN. CLINTON: Yes.

Q Is there something specific-since the White House is going to complain about the cost of this, is there something specific that you would say could come out of the budget to offset this cost?

SEN. GRAHAM: Well, I'm-it's $700 million this coming year. It's 5 billion (dollars) and some change over the next five years. It's two-tenths of 1 percent. I'm willing to look. I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to find the offsets. But if we're going to play this game, I don't think we want to play it very long. I'm looking at transportation bill and I can find you $700 million pretty quickly that most Americans would say I'd rather spend it on the Guard and reserves than on this road project or bridge.

So people who want to be fiscally conservative I applaud. I'm a pretty fiscally conservative person. I voted against a $400 billion prescription drug program, but I lost. I voted against $20 billion as a grant to a country that's sitting on a trillion dollars' worth of oil, but I lost. I've got no shame of voting for a billion dollars to make sure 300,000 Guard and Reserve families have continuity of health care. I challenge the Pentagon to work with us to find $700 million.

But I'll tell you this: if you ask the American people we need to go into your wallet, we can't find the $700 million to pay for this, they would gladly give the money.

SEN. CLINTON: I would just add to what Senator Graham said. I think it's abundantly clear now after our experience in Afghanistan and Iraq that it is the men and women in the military who are bearing the brunt of this. It is not our equipment and our technology, as much as they have helped and enhanced our fighting capacity. But it's those men and women, every single day who are out there putting their lives at risk.

And because we've had to rely so heavily on our Guard and Reserve, there is very little difference now.

You know, again, it's not just that are you a Republican or Democrat, you're American; it's are you Reserve, Guard or active duty? Everybody's at risk. And we've lost a lot of people from both the Guard and Reserve, as well as active duty, in the last two and a half years. So to me, you know, the time has come to recognize our most important asset when it comes to our national defense.

SEN. DASCHLE: I have to get downstairs, so let me just quickly add to what my colleagues have said.

I would ask those who are skeptical about the cost what the cost is of replacing the 40 percent of those troops on the ground today who are reservists filling the role of active-duty personnel. What is the cost to the government, to the Pentagon, if every one of those personnel were active-duty today? I will tell you it would be many times the $697 million we're spending on health care. And that day will come. We will be looking for ways with which to fill that void, if we aren't careful and if we don't take seriously the concerns expressed to us and the reports we're already getting about retention in the Guard and Reserves.

We want to retain these people, because it's the right thing to do. But as Hillary said, it's also the smart thing to do, because it allows us, with less cost, to meet the needs of our country as we face the challenges militarily abroad.

I have to get downstairs.

SEN. GRAHAM: Can I comment? One thing about the committee markup-there's been huge movement. The committee had nothing last time. This year we had a mark that said yes, you can sign up for TriCare if you're a Guard or Reservist, but here's the deal. You will pay a premium, and your employer, if you have one, will pay 72 percent of the premium, and the government will pay zero. To me, that is very bad public policy.

When 25 percent of the people called to active duty are unable to go on active duty, are not fit to fight, then the health care system making them ready for war is failing America. The strongest evidence that we need to reform our health care system for our military Reserve component is that one in four are not able to go to the fight.

This is a way to reform it that does two things. It gives you continuity of health care from the military, and it helps the employer.

Employers are the unsung hero. We need to lessen their burden. The committee markup outsourced health care for the Reserves. The last thing in the world we need to do is say, "Here, you take care of that; it's not our responsibility."

I don't want to outsource the health care obligations that we have to make sure the Reserve component can fight. I think the government should spend money on military health care for Guard and reservist, because it's the smart thing to do. It provides a readiness that we have apparently not been able to achieve otherwise.

So the committee mark, while a good effort, failed to meet the needs of the employer community. The employer community is the unsung hero. They're losing people for over a year. Most Guard and Reserve members receive a reduction in pay. When you're called to active duty, more than half the people who are called to active duty get a cut in pay. The employer usually voluntarily makes the pay difference, but they don't have to.

Wouldn't it be nice that if we told the employer community we'll pick up the health care cost for your employee because your employee is keeping us free. Don't worry about it anymore; we're going to ask them to pay some, and we're going to pay some. That would be a great message to send to the employer community. The committee markup was the wrong message.

Thank you.

SEN. CLINTON: Thank you all very much.