[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 27, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   THE INTRODUCTION OF THE FAIRNESS FOR CIVIL SERVANT RESERVISTS AND 
                         GUARDSMEN ACT OF 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GERALD D. KLECZKA

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 27, 2001

  Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce legislation today that 
will ensure the fair treatment of all civil servant reservists and 
guardsmen who are called up for active duty service. The Fairness for 
Civil Servant Reservists and Guardsmen Act of 2001 will mandate that 
all federal agencies pay the employee share of Federal Employee Health 
Benefits Program (FEHBP) premiums if they are on active duty for more 
than 30 days.
  Currently, the federal government pays only the government portion of 
the health premium when a reservist is called to active duty. Because 
these men and women take leave without pay from their federal jobs, 
they often find themselves having to pay their portion of the premium 
from a much smaller salary, which can be a serious strain on their 
family finances. While reservists and their families are also eligible 
for military health care during this period, this alternative often 
constitutes a burden on the families, who may have to travel great 
distances to get to military health facilities and are forced to 
develop a new relationship with a different doctor.
  The men and women of our National Guard and Reserve units perform 
absolutely essential functions in times of conflict. The soldiers of 
Milwaukee's 128th Air Refueling Wing and 440th Airlift Wing have 
answered the call time and time again. Those who also happen to be 
federal employees should not, on top of everything else, have to worry 
about how their families will get health care while they're off serving 
our country.
  During the Gulf War, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) asked 
federal agencies to cover both employee and employer costs of FEBHP 
premiums for those reservists and guardsmen who were on active duty and 
on leave without pay status. Last year, one of my constituents 
contacted me asking why this policy had not been extended to all civil 
service employees on active duty since the war. I then began contacting 
OPM and the Department of Defense (DoD) requesting that the policy be 
made permanent.
  In June 2000 the OPM circulated a memo to agency heads encouraging 
them to make the policy a formal one. Earlier this month, DoD announced 
that it will begin covering health care premiums for all of its civil 
servant reservists or guardsmen who are called to active duty.
  This bill would require that all federal agencies pay the FEHBP 
premiums of all their employees who are reservists or guardsmen that 
are called up for active duty in the future. It would also require 
federal agencies to reimburse the premiums paid by employees who served 
on active duty during Kosovo, Bosnia, and the 1998 Iraq operations.
  Regarding the cost of this legislation, it is a very small price to 
pay for fairness. For example, the Pentagon estimates that it will only 
cost $2.3 million to reimburse the 1600 DoD employees who have served 
in the Balkans and Iraq over the past 10 years. Since the DoD is the 
largest employer of reservists and Guardsmen, that will be the highest 
amount any agency has to pay. More importantly, the Pentagon has even 
said they don't need supplemental appropriations to make the 
retroactive payments. Future costs will vary depending on the 
individual contingency operation.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this fair and important 
legislation.

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