[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 58 (Thursday, April 10, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5177-S5178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Smith, and Mr. 
        Leahy):
  S. 852. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to provide 
limited TRICARE program eligibility for members of the Ready Reserve of 
the Armed Forces, to provide financial support for continuation of 
health insurance for mobilized members of reserve components of the 
Armed Forces, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Armed 
Services.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, today I join with a bipartisan group of 
colleagues from the Senate Guard Caucus to introduce the National Guard 
and Reserve Comprehensive Health Benefits Act of 2003. This bill will 
allow reservists and their families to receive health coverage through 
Tricare by paying a modest premium.
  These dedicated men and women deserve a better benefit package, given 
the dramatic expansion of their role within our military. Indeed, there 
is concern that the high rate of mobilizations--which no one expects to 
abate--will erode this force's ability to recruit and retain top-notch 
personnel. South Dakota Guard leaders tell me this bill would be 
perhaps the most powerful tool we could give them for recruiting and 
retention. By providing access to quality affordable health care for 
reservists and their families, this bill will also ensure that when 
they are mobilized, they are healthy and ready to go.
  As I stand before you today, nearly 2,000 members of South Dakota's 
Guard and Reserves are deployed throughout the world--from force-
protection missions at home to assignments in Europe and the Persian 
Gulf. Most of these reservists will be mobilized for 6 months, and some 
will stay activated for up to 2 years. And while South Dakota has one 
of the highest per-capita mobilization rates in the country, it is not 
unique. As the U.S. role as an international leader evolves, the 
National Guard and Reserves are being called upon at unprecedented 
rates to bolster our Nation's defense.
  Indeed, since the 1991 gulf war, and particularly since the 
terrorists attacks of September 11, the demands on Reserve and Guard 
units have increased steadily. Not only are more reservists deployed 
more often, they are also activated for increasingly diverse tasks. 
Historically, this force has helped address a wide variety of social 
needs--from enforcing civil rights laws to fighting forest fires--and 
homeland defense is shaping us a major new duty that will require its 
sustained engagement.
  While the demands we place on reservists have grown markedly in the 
last decade, the Federal Government's commitment to this dedicated 
group of men and women has not kept pace. In fact, the basic pay and 
benefit structure that was established during the cold war--when 
reservists could see their entire career pass by without being 
activated--remains in place today. As a result, leaders of the National 
Guard and Reserves are increasingly worried about their ability to 
recruit and retain new members.
  The legislation we are introducing today takes a major step toward 
providing the men and women of our Reserve components with the support 
they need to carry out their new, vital role in the total force 
structure. It will offer Reserve and National Guard members the 
opportunity to participate for themselves and their family members in 
the same Tricare program available to active-duty service members and 
their families. Reservists and their families will share the cost of 
premium payments with the Department of Defense, with the same cost 
distribution as used in the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan. This 
program will help the National Guard and Reserves attract and keep the 
best and brightest men and women in the Nation.
  The National Guard Association of the United States reports that the 
average cost of a family health care plan through a civilian HMO is 
$7,541 per year. In contrast, it estimates that the Tricare cost per 
family is only $5,173 per year, even without the Government sharing any 
of the cost. With Government cost-sharing, this will be an attractively 
priced option for securing health coverage.
  Beyond recruitment and retention, this program will improve 
readiness. More than 20 percent of the Ready Reserve--and as much as 40 
percent of young enlisted personnel--do not currently have health 
insurance. Providing access to quality health care during all phases of 
service can drastically reduce the occurrence of situations in which 
large portions of a unit are unable to deploy because of medical 
reasons. Maintaining a healthy force is absolutely essential to 
maintaining a prepared force.
  Our legislation will also reduce the incidence of problems that 
invariably occur during mobilization, when families leave their 
private-sector health plan and enter a wholly new plan, Tricare. Last 
month, I worked with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to end a 
nationwide problem among families of mobilized reservists. Simply put, 
they were being forced, unfairly and improperly, to join a more 
expensive Tricare plan. We did solve that problem, but many families 
had to wait weeks without knowing whether they should try to extend 
their private coverage or whether they could afford Tricare. That is 
simply unacceptable. It is the last thing a reservist should have to 
worry about when preparing, possibly, for deployment to a war zone.
  Another challenge for families going through mobilization is learning 
the Tricare benefit structure and understanding its system for helping 
those with problems or questions. Again, all this would be eliminated 
if families could enroll in Tricare before mobilization. If a family 
believes its employer's civilian plan is superior, they would be free 
to remain, and, during periods of mobilization, those premiums would be 
partially subsidized.
  We have developed this bill in consultation with leaders of the 
National Guard and Reserves at the State and National levels. I 
appreciate their concern for this problem and their work to help 
develop a solution. In this regard, I would particularly like to 
acknowledge the efforts and strong support of the South Dakota National 
Guard, as well as the Military Officers Association of America, the 
Enlisted Association of the National Guard, the National Guard 
Association of the United States, the Reserve Officers Association, the 
Marine Corps Reserve Officers Association, the National Military Family 
Association, the National Association for Uniformed Services, and the 
National Military/Veterans Association.
  I would like also to thank my cosponsors, Senator Leahy, Senator 
DeWine, and Senator Gordon Smith, for helping advance this project.
  Guaranteeing that all reservists have access to health care--either 
through civilian employers or Tricare--will ensure that this force is 
ready to fight at a moment's notice. The bill we are introducing today 
will not only improve the readiness of the current Reserve Force, but 
will pay dividends in the future by improving our ability to recruit 
and retain the best and brightest men and women for the National Guard 
and Reserves.
  The Senate has set aside time each day for the last 3 weeks to honor 
and support the dedicated service of our troops in Iraq. Surely we can 
agree that one of our high priorities should be to ensure that, as long 
as they continue their service to our country, they will always have 
access to high-quality affordable health care.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today I am joined by Senator DeWine, by our 
minority leader, Senator Daschle, and

[[Page S5178]]

by Senator Smith in introducing legislation that will boost the 
readiness of our Nation's military Reserve.
  Never has our Nation relied more heavily on the Selected Reserve--
more than 875,000 men and women, who stand ready for deployments at 
home or abroad, at a moment's notice. More than 54 percent of the U.S. 
Army's and 34 percent of the U.S. Air Force's end strength resides in 
the Selected Reserve. Both the Army and the Marine Corps rely on these 
Reserve forces for almost 20 percent of their manpower strength. The 
skill, experience and professionalism of these dedicated citizens often 
meet and exceed those of their brave counterparts in the active force.
  It is no wonder that more than 200,000 reservists have been called to 
duty for service that is related to the war in Iraq. Many States have 
thousands of their citizens who have temporarily dropped their civilian 
jobs and left their families for deployments halfway across the globe. 
More than 300 citizen-soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines in my home 
State of Vermont are serving proudly at the moment, here and abroad. 
When you include the call-ups since the September 11 attacks, the 
number of activated reservists across the country far exceeds those in 
the first gulf war.
  These deployments have spotlighted some specific and solvable 
problems that have affected the readiness of the reserves and, in turn, 
our entire military. Some of the troops who have been called up have 
not been as healthy as possible. Others have faced the stress of 
leaving their families behind while looking back in concern as their 
families try to navigate the sometimes arcane military health care 
system. While often experiencing a loss of income, reserve family 
members also have had to leave their civilian doctors and join the 
military's TRICARE program.
  More troubling, many of the members of the Guard and Reserve who 
might be activated any day do not currently have access to affordable 
health insurance. A recent General Accounting Office report underscores 
the fact that most of these uninsured Guard and Reservists reside in 
the lower enlisted ranks, where the reserve soldiers, sailors, airmen, 
and marines oftentimes are unemployed or switch jobs frequently. It is 
unfair to them and their families, and it is unwise for the 
preparedness of our military, to expect someone to deploy anywhere at 
the drop of a hat, but then to disregard whether they will be as 
healthy as possible when we need to call them to active duty.
  These men and women are ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for 
their country, and so are their families. But they are performing as 
full-time soldiers with part-time benefits.
  This situation is preventing the National Guard and the Reserve from 
being as ready as possible for action. At the same time, the stress and 
strain that activations place on families has hurt recruiting and 
retention. To ensure the strongest and most effective reserve and the 
strongest and most effective military capability, it is critical that 
we address these issues and provide comprehensive health insurance 
coverage.

  The National Guard and Reserve Comprehensive Health Benefits Act of 
2003 will provide seamless health coverage to our reserve forces at all 
phases of their service. Under our plan, if one of 876,000 members of 
the Selected is in a drill status, that reservist and his or her family 
will become eligible to join the TRICARE military health insurance 
program. The reservist will pay an annual premium, around 30 percent of 
the annual cost of providing care. For a single reservist, the premium 
would be about $420 per year, while for a family the annual payment 
would be about $1,450. This is not rock-bottom-cheap health care, but 
our aim is to ensure affordable health insurance for hard-working 
families that may not otherwise have access to coverage.
  If a reservist is activated, he or she will continue to have free 
health care through the military health system. But under our 
legislation, the reservist's family will be able to avoid the 
considerable difficulties of switching doctors and health insurance. 
They also can apply to have their civilian health insurance reimbursed. 
The program will not cost any more to the Federal Government than the 
current arrangement because the per capita costs are capped to ensure 
that they are no more than the cost of TRICARE. And when a reservist 
comes off active duty, he or she will be able to enter the new premium-
based TRICARE program, just as before deployment.
  Because reservists will be able to have access to affordable 
insurance whatever their deployment status, this legislation is being 
supported by several leading organizations, including the National 
Guard Association of the United States, NGAUS, the Enlisted National 
Guard Association of the United States, EANGUS, the Reserve Officers 
Association, ROA, the Naval Reserve Association, NRA, the National 
Military Family Association, NMFA, Marine Corps Reserve Officers 
Association, the National Association for Uniformed Services, the 
National Military/Veterans Association, and the Military Officers 
Association, MOA. This legislation is the top priority of The Military 
Coalition's Guard/Reserve Committee.
  We have worked hard to fully understand the existing problems and to 
construct this efficient and effective solution. I would particularly 
like to thank former Undersecretary of Defense Fred Pang and former 
House Armed Services Committee Professional Staff Member Karen Heath 
for their sage counsel and guidance in developing this legislation. We 
are part of a strong, bipartisan coalition that will push for enactment 
of this long-overdue legislation. In the coming weeks we plan to 
welcome additional cosponsors for this comprehensive bill as we begin 
the process of moving it without delay through the legislative process 
and to the President's desk.
                                 ______