[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 133 (Thursday, September 25, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 1588. NATIONAL DEFENSE 
                 AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2004

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES R. LANGEVIN

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 25, 2003

  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the brave men and 
women of our armed services who are carrying out the mission to provide 
hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. I would also like to commend 
Representative Crowley for his leadership and advocacy for our men and 
women in uniform.
  Like many of my colleagues, I am concerned with the increasing 
frequency and duration of Reserve component deployments. During the 
Cold War era, the Reserve components were a manpower pool that was 
rarely tapped. However, this resource has become increasingly important 
to our peacekeeping and counterterrorism missions. As a result, the 
demands placed on Guard and Reserve families are quickly growing. Not 
only do these families often have to adjust to life on much smaller 
salaries, they may have to worry about maintaining their health 
coverage. This situation is unacceptable, and we need to provide our 
Guard and Reserve with this coverage from the start so that the 
stresses of deployment are not compounded by worries about healthcare. 
I believe offering the guarantee of long-term health coverage would not 
only help the families of activated Guard and Reservists, but also 
increase recruitment and retention of some of our most valuable 
personnel.
  As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I firmly believe 
that members of our National Guard and Reserve should have benefits 
commensurate with those of active duty forces. With the announcement 
that the Reserves' total commitments could now be in excess of a year 
in some circumstances, this problem must be remedied immediately, and 
if not by the Pentagon then by Congress. We place enough burdens on 
these families as it is, I want us to make every effort to remove at 
least this one. I urge my colleagues to support the Crowley motion to 
instruct.

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