[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 127 (Tuesday, September 16, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S11576]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DASCHLE (for Mr. Graham of Florida (for himself, Mr. 
        Hagel, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. 
        Dayton, Mr. Akaka, and Mrs. Murray)):
  S. 1622. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to exempt 
certain members of the Armed Forces from the requirement to pay 
subsistence charges while hospitalized; to the Committee on Armed 
Services.
  (At the request of Mr. Daschle, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)

 Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, Senators Hagel, Clinton, Ben 
Nelson, Murkowski, Dayton, Murray, Akaka, and I are introducing 
legislation to help service members who are injured or become ill while 
serving in combat. Today, if one of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, or 
marines fighting in Iraq or in Afghanistan are wounded or suffer an 
illness, they are evacuated to a military hospital. The problem is when 
they are discharged from the hospital they are given a bill for the 
meals they were served while being treated.
  Under current law, service members are required to pay for their 
meals at a rate of $8.10 per day while they are in a military hospital. 
For example, a Marine Staff Sergeant recently spent 26 days in the 
hospital recovering from injuries endured when an Iraqi child dropped a 
hand grenade in the HUMVEE he was driving. Upon his discharge from the 
hospital, he was handed a bill for $243 for his meals. While eight 
dollars a day may not seem like a lot of money to you or me, it is to a 
private who makes less than $14,000 a year. If we are looking to save 
money, we should not turn first to the pockets of our injured service 
members.
  The bill we introduce today is simple. It will prohibit the 
Department of Defense from charging troops for meals when they are 
hospitalized as a result of either injury or illness while in combat or 
training for combat. This legislation shows strong support for our 
service members currently in harm's way and helps to alleviate a 
financial burden on our injured soldiers.
  This bill is similar to one filed by Congressman Bill Young in the 
House of Representatives, but also covers those who become ill while in 
combat or training for combat. We already know that over 100 soldiers 
deployed to the Persian Gulf region and Central Asia have contracted 
pneumonia, 30 that become so ill that they had to be evacuated to 
hospitals in Europe or the United States. This situation highlights why 
we must include those who suffer from illness as well as injury. I am 
grateful to Congressman Young for his leadership on this issue and am 
hopeful we can work together to quickly pass legislation to end the 
unfair practice of charging our injured service members for hospital 
meals.
  The cost to the government for correcting this serious injustice is 
significant. This year, the Department of Defense has recouped only 
$1.5 million for hospital meals from hospitalized service members 
world-wide. This legislation is even more limited in scope, as it only 
applies to those who become ill or injured during combat or situations 
simulating combat. While I am cognizant of the budget constraints our 
military is facing, this is a comparatively small expense that will 
mean a great deal to those service members affected.
  Service members and military families are facing many challenges 
right now. They have to contend with long separations, potential 
financial hardships from extended Reserve and Guard call-ups, not to 
mention the very real fear of being wounded in combat. We should not 
add to these burdens by charging them for their meals after a lengthy 
hospital stay for a combat-related condition.
  I urge my colleagues to join me and my colleagues in quickly moving 
this legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill, the following 
editorial in support of ending this injustice from the Omaha World 
Herald, entitled ``Nickel and Diming the Troops'' be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1622

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES 
                   FROM REQUIREMENT TO PAY SUBSISTENCE CHARGES 
                   WHILE HOSPITALIZED.

       (a) In General.--Section 1075 of title 10, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(a) In General.--'' before ``When''; and
       (2) by striking the second sentence and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to any of 
     the following:
       ``(1) An enlisted member, or former enlisted member, of a 
     uniformed service who is entitled to retired or retainer pay 
     or equivalent pay.
       ``(2) An officer or former officer of a uniformed service, 
     or an enlisted member or former enlisted member of a 
     uniformed service not described in paragraph (1), who is 
     hospitalized under section 1074 of this title because of an 
     injury or disease incurred (as determined under criteria 
     prescribed by the Secretary of Defense)--
       ``(A) as a direct result of armed conflict;
       ``(B) while engaged in hazardous service;
       ``(C) in the performance of duty under conditions 
     simulating war; or
       ``(D) through an instrumentality of war.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--Section 1075(b) of title 10, United 
     States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply with 
     respect to injuries or diseases incurred on or after that 
     date.

             [From the Omaha World Herald, Sept. 16, 2003]

                      Nickel-and-Diming the Troops

       It seems just plain mean-spirited to bill injured soldiers 
     for their food.
       The U.S. government does, indeed, put a price on the 
     sacrifices of the men and women injured in military combat: 
     $8.10 per day.
       That's the daily food allowance soldiers receive, which in 
     1981 Congress decided enlisted soldiers must repay to the 
     government when they're ``lucky'' enough to be hospitalized 
     and get free food.
       It sounds like good fiscal sense in theory--until you 
     confront the reality of a Marine Corps reservist who lost 
     part of his foot in Iraq, unaware he'd get a $210.60 bill 
     upon discharge from the National Navy Medical Center in 
     Bethesda, Md. Or the many other soldiers like him, sometimes 
     hospitalized for long periods, sometimes handicapped for 
     life.
       And the government is busy nickel-and-diming these heroes 
     amid a bureaucracy where a million dollars is penny-ante 
     change. (Once upon a time, it might have bought a hammer and 
     a toilet seat or two.)
       Florida Rep. C.W. Bill Young, chairman of the House 
     Appropriations Committee, personally paid the tab for the 
     reservist hospitalized in Bethesda. His bill to correct the 
     inequity, introduced Sept. 3, already has 114 co-sponsors. It 
     seems likely to sail through Congress in the next few weeks.
       Technically, the 1981 law does prevent ``double-dipping''--
     paying the hospitalized soldiers the $8.10 food allowance and 
     feeding them, too. But the government already bends the rules 
     for soldiers in combat. Young's bill would extend that 
     exception to soldiers battling to recover from combat 
     injuries.
       What a small price to pay for the men and women who paid so 
     much to protect this country.

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