[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 24, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1308]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      PROVIDING FOR CONSOLIDATION OF H.R. 1119, NATIONAL DEFENSE 
                 AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. GARY A. CONDIT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 19, 1997

  Mr. CONDIT. Mr. Speaker, I stand today to oppose the rule. I have a 
great deal of respect for the chairman of the Committee on Rules, but I 
want those of my colleagues who can hear me, who can hear the sound of 
my voice to listen to my amendment which was turned down by the 
Committee on Rules yesterday.
  We are talking about the military. We are talking about equipment and 
we are talking about facilities.
  I had an amendment that said we have to honor our commitment to the 
men and women who serve in the military. I believe that if we are going 
to provide certain benefits--such as lifetime medical care--to them 
when they retire, then they are entitled to them and we ought to keep 
our promise.
  That is the simple amendment. It's straightforward and it's honest. 
It's about making promises and keeping them.
  I tell my colleagues, it does not make any difference how many pieces 
of equipment we have or what kind of facilities we build. If we do not 
have good men and women serving in the military it makes no difference 
how good our equipment or facilities are.
  I went before the Committee on Rules to ask them to allow me to bring 
my amendment to the floor. All I was asking is that we honor the 
commitment we made to our military retirees and to honor the promises 
that we made. I was asking us to honor our commitment to them.
  The U.S. military makes a commitment to a young person who comes in 
and signs up. They say, ``We're going to give you health benefits for 
life when you retire.'' All of us here in the Congress know the 
military has repeatedly made that promise. We have the casework to 
prove it over and over.
  We also know that we have had problems delivering those benefits and 
even more problems keeping our word. This amendment would force the 
military to keep its word.
  I am troubled that the Department of Defense doesn't support this 
amendment. Their legal counsel issued a three-page statement which said 
my amendment would ``impose undesired inflexibility'' on the 
Department. According to them, my amendment would be ``unwise.'' It 
means they don't want to keep their word.
  Mr. Speaker, what kind of message are we sending our retired military 
population when we hide behind our promises rather than honor them? 
Recently a Federal judge in Florida ruled that retirees over 65 years 
of age who enlisted in the military prior to 1956 may now sue the 
Government for breaking its promise of free health care for life.
  Are we really supposed to sit here in the 105th Congress and tell the 
next generation of American military veterans that they may have to sue 
the Government in order to have adequate health care coverage simply 
because the Department of Defense is finding it difficult to live up to 
its word?
  Mr. Speaker, we are asking the United States to honor its commitment 
to our veterans.

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