Servicemembers Health Insurance Protection Act of 2005
SERVICEMEMBERS HEALTH INSURANCE PROTECTION ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - May 23, 2005)
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. HERSETH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2046, as amended, the Servicemembers' Health Insurance Protection Act of 2005.
I would like to thank the gentleman from Indiana (Chairman Buyer) and the gentleman from Illinois (Ranking Member Evans) for their leadership on the full committee and for their good work in shepherding this bill to the floor today. I would also like to personally thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Chairman BOOZMAN) of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity for his steady bipartisan leadership on the subcommittee.
Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation and am an original cosponsor of the bill. This legislation is aimed at improving the quality of life of our servicemembers, veterans, and military families. It is very important for the increasingly activated National Guard and Reserve components, our citizen-soldiers who leave behind their families, employment, and comforts of home to defend this Nation.
The State of South Dakota has had and continues to have National Guard units activated and serving in the Middle East. This legislation will protect them and their families as they return home to civilian life and seek to reinstate their private or employer-sponsored health insurance coverage.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation also includes two corrective provisions, as the gentleman from Arkansas (Chairman BOOZMAN) described, which amend and improve the administration of the disabled veteran adaptive housing grant program and the servicemembers' group life insurance program respectively. I am pleased we were able to include these important corrective measures.
Mr. Speaker, the servicemembers, military families and veterans of this Nation have earned and deserve our best efforts here in Congress. Indeed, they deserve so much more. I am proud to support this legislation, and I am confident it will benefit the veterans of my home State of South Dakota, as well as the other veterans across the country.
I fully support H.R. 2046, as amended, and urge my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. HERSETH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I would just like to reiterate my appreciation for the leadership of the full committee, the gentleman from Arkansas (Chairman BOOZMAN), and his leadership on the subcommittee, of course the efforts of committee staff and all of their hard work in advancing this important legislation, as well as those that were in hearings with the chairman and me and other members of the subcommittee, those from the Department of Labor, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as many veterans organizations serving as advocates for veterans and their families across the country and servicemembers as they return.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
http://thomas.loc.gov