[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 19 (Friday, February 18, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1720-S1722]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY:
  S. 460. A bill to expand and enhance benefits for members of the 
Armed Forces and their families, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Finance.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I recently returned from Iraq where I am 
proud to report that the men and women of the American military 
continue to perform magnificently. They are the best of America, and we 
owe them and their families a special debt of honor and gratitude.
  Today, I am introducing legislation to strengthen our military and 
enact a ``Military Family Bill of Rights.'' My hope is that Congress 
will act quickly to build the military ready to meet the challenges of 
this century. That requires a larger Army, a larger Marine Corps, and 
better policies for Americans in uniform and their families.
  We must begin by building a military sized and shaped for the 
challenges of the future. The military today, in particular the Army 
and the Marine Corps, is too small for the missions it faces. The 
evidence is everywhere.
  In the past, the Army gave units 2 years to reset, re-train, and 
prepare between combat deployments. Instead the 3rd Infantry Division 
is headed back to Iraq after only one year. The 101st Airborne and the 
4th Infantry Divisions are headed back later this year after less than 
2 years. The First Marine Expeditionary Force is already in the middle 
of its second deployment to Iraq.
  Even with this timetable, we have made ends meet only through large 
contributions from the National Guard and Reserve. But in planning the 
next rotation of U.S. forces, we are running out of Guard and Reserve 
units to call on because they've already been deployed. Fourteen of the 
National Guard's 15 most combat-ready units are either in Iraq now, 
recently demobilized, or on alert for duty in the coming year. Of the 
205,000 Army Reservists, only about 37,000 remain available for 
deployment for the types of missions needed in Iraq. Last year the Army 
dipped into the Individual Ready Reserve. More recently, the Army has 
even begun to call back military retirees, ranging in age from their 
mid-40s to their late 60s.
  The situation is so grave that Lt. General James Helmly, chief of the 
Army Reserve, recently warned that the reserves are ``rapidly 
degenerating into a broken force''--and cautioned that at this rate we 
will not be able to meet the needs of ``future missions.''
  The war on terror--which we know requires a comprehensive approach--
will have a military component. Surprises happen and our armed forces 
must be ready to meet those challenges, wherever and whenever they 
occur.
  Since the end of the Cold War, every major commitment of American 
military power, including the ``Air War'' in Kosovo, has required a 
sizeable commitment of American ground forces, at the very least to 
provide post-conflict security and stability. There's no technological 
substitute for boots on the ground, and we must always plan for the 
worst, so we never expose our troops to the unintended consequences of 
wishful thinking.
  The CIA's internal think-tank, the National Intelligence Council, 
recently drew an important conclusion about conflict over the next 15 
years: ``Weak governments, lagging economies, religious extremism, and 
youth bulges will align to create a perfect storm for internal conflict 
in certain regions.'' That's a warning about the danger of failed 
states--and this should be a wake-up call for American strategy.
  Failed states can become havens for terrorists. It was a failed state 
in Afghanistan that provided a training ground for al-Qaida. It was a 
failed state where al-Qaida made its plans, grew its forces, and 
emerged to threaten our national security.
  We need a comprehensive foreign policy strategy to deal with failed 
states, but we must also have a military ready to act if necessary. For 
the foreseeable future, the United States will need a

[[Page S1721]]

larger ground force. Failure to build one now will only diminish our 
national security in the future.
  The war in Iraq proved that a lightning-fast, high-tech force can 
smash an opposing Army and drive to Baghdad in three weeks. But there 
is no substitute for a well-trained and equipped infantry to win the 
peace or secure a failed state. Those missions require an investment in 
the men and women of the American military--to expand their number, and 
to increase the number of forces that specialize in certain skills.
  To meet these needs, this legislation will expand the Active Duty 
Army by 30,000 and the Marines by 10,000 personnel.
  The men and women of the American military are sustained by the bonds 
they share within their unit, and by the love and strength they draw 
from home--from their families, their spouses, their children, their 
parents. Military families are unsung heroes who receive neither medals 
nor parades--giving everything they can to the men and women they love, 
men and women who have been called to war. They answered the call. And 
so must we--with a new commitment to smarter defense policies, like 
those I outlined earlier, and better care for military families.
  So the legislation I offer today also includes a Military Family Bill 
of Rights, a set of policies enshrined in law, to provide assistance to 
the families of the American military.
  Investing in military families isn't just an act of compassion--it's 
a smart investment in America's military. Good commanders know that 
while you may recruit an individual soldier or Marine, you ``retain'' a 
family. Nearly 50 percent of America's service members are married 
today. If we want to retain our most experienced service members, 
especially the non-commissioned officers that are the backbone of the 
Army and Marine Corps, we have to keep faith with their families. If we 
don't, and those experienced, enlisted leaders begin to leave, America 
will have a broken, ``hollow'' military.

  We can begin by increasing the financial support military families 
receive. We can help them meet the increased expenses every military 
family faces when a loved-one is deployed. Thousands of reservists, for 
example, take a cut in pay when called to active duty. Some employers 
make up the difference in lost wages. We should reward those patriotic 
business leaders. And since small businesses don't have the workforces 
that make it possible to spread such costs, we should offer a Small 
Business Tax Credit to those who make up the difference between a 
reservist's civilian and military pay. This legislation would also 
establish Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Grants to 
buttress existing loan programs that help small-businesses survive when 
a vital employee, or even the owner, is mobilized. It also creates the 
Reservists Enterprise Transition and Sustainability Task Force to help 
small businesses prepare for and cope with the mobilization of 
reservist-employees and owners. For all service members, this 
legislation permits penalty free withdrawals from Individual Retirement 
Accounts for deployment-related expenses, such as increased child-care 
and other costs.
  As many as one-in-five members of the National Guard and Reserves 
don't have health insurance. That is bad policy and bad for our 
national security. When units are mobilized, they count on all their 
personnel. But when a member of the National Guard or Reserve is 
mobilized, and unit members fail physicals because they haven't seen a 
doctor in 2 years, that's bad for readiness and that's bad for unit 
effectiveness. As part of the Military Family Bill of Rights, we will 
extend military health insurance eligibility to all members of the 
National Guard and Reserve, whether mobilized or not.
  One of the unfortunate truths about war is that it takes lives--and 
mostly young lives. For their survivors, much of life remains, and we 
must be generous in our efforts to help them put their lives back 
together. Almost a year ago, I proposed increasing the military's death 
benefit to $250,000. When combined with the Servicemembers Group Life 
Insurance, a family would receive $500,000 when a loved-one dies in the 
service of our nation. No one can ever put a price on a life, but we 
ought to do what we can to help families coping with the worst of news. 
The President recently embraced a formula to reach the $500,000 
threshold, and I'm glad he has joined this effort.
  Our generosity must not stop there. At present, survivors of those 
killed in action have 180 days to move out of military housing. But for 
those with young children in school, 180 days may mean starting a 
school year in one State, and finishing it in another. With all the 
disruption the loss of a parent will bring to their lives, survivors 
should have the flexibility to stay in their homes for one year after 
the death of a service member. It's the least we can do for those who 
have paid the ultimate price.
  But let's be honest: No piece of legislation will ever anticipate all 
the needs of America's military families. Someone will always fall 
through the cracks. And the legislation I intend to offer will try to 
fix that. Take the case of Jay Briseno. Jay was wounded in Iraq and 
left paralyzed from the neck down. The law authorizes the VA to provide 
$11,000 to modify a disabled veteran's vehicle, but it doesn't provide 
the resources a family needs to buy the specially out-fitted vehicle 
Jay needed. In his case, a generous member of the community donated the 
van the Briseno's now use to drive Jay to doctors appointments and 
hospital visits. And we are all grateful for that act of generosity. 
But no family should ever have to be so dependent on charity to meet a 
basic need.
  Americans will do everything in our power to help military families. 
But not all Americans can afford to buy modified minivans for wounded 
veterans, and not all military families have the same needs. So as part 
of my Military Family Bill of Rights, we will establish a Military 
Family Relief Fund. Every American who pays taxes will be able to 
contribute by checking a box on their income tax returns. Just as we 
let Americans donate a few dollars to finance our presidential 
elections on their tax forms, we should give them this opportunity to 
say thank you to our troops. The program will meet the needs we can't 
expect with the flexibility and responsiveness our service members, 
veterans, and their families deserve.
  Supporting military families must also extend beyond service in 
uniform--with programs across government to help with jobs, VA 
benefits, healthcare, and education.
  Veterans possess great leadership and technical skills, but they 
often lack the financial resources to turn that potential into a viable 
enterprise. A recent report by the Small Business Administration stated 
that 22 percent of veterans plan to start or are starting a business 
when they leave the military. For service-disabled veterans, this 
number rises to 28 percent. So the legislation I introduce today will 
create a new program, administered by the Small Business 
Administration, to provide very-low interest loans, up to $100,000, to 
help veterans start new small businesses.
  But in this time of war, we have another obligation to meet the needs 
of those suffering with the experience of war.
  The Pentagon believes that as many as 100,000 new combat veterans 
across the country will need some level of mental health care. The New 
England Journal of Medicine has reported as many as 1 in 6 soldiers 
returning from Iraq show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. 
Fewer than 40 percent of those sought help. Military officials and 
mental health providers predict that up to 30 percent of returning 
soldiers will require psychiatric services associated with their 
experience in war. Through July of last year, 31,000 veterans of 
Operation Iraqi Freedom had applied for disability benefits for 
injuries--and 20 percent of those claims were for psychological 
conditions. These are levels not seen since the Vietnam War.
  Our VA medical facilities are not ready for increased demands for the 
treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In fact only 86 of 163 VA 
Medical Centers have PTSD treatment centers. We must do better. The 
wounds of war are not always visible, and we cannot sit back and wait 
for people to ask for help. We have to be proactive.
  Soldiers and Marines returning from war want to go home. They don't 
want to do anything that could jeopardize

[[Page S1722]]

their homecoming. That's what happened to Jeffrey Lucey, a Marine 
Reservist from Belchertown, MA. When he was leaving Iraq, his first 
instinct was to report traumatic memories of things he had seen in the 
war. But someone told him it might delay his return home, so Jeff kept 
quiet. But the safety, security, and joy of homecoming eluded Jeff. 
Haunted by the war and what he had seen, he began to drink heavily. He 
was plagued by recurring nightmares, and began talking about suicide. 
Last summer, Jeff took his own life. Jeff's story is a preventable 
tragedy, and a call to action. As part of the legislation I plan, 
keeping faith with Jeff's family who have become committed advocates in 
his memory, we will expand PTSD programs within the VA and require 
outreach efforts to find the veterans who need the care.
  Our obligation is to keep faith with the men and women of the 
American military and their families--whether they are on active duty, 
in the National Guard or Reserves, or veterans.
  Those who have stood for us should know that we stand with them, 
today and always. Each of us can do something to ease their burden--but 
truly supporting our troops requires that we act not just as 
individuals, but as a nation. We owe our troops the opportunity to 
serve in the best-planned, best-equipped, and best-led military force 
in the world, and we owe them the peace of mind that comes from knowing 
that they and their families will be taken care of if they sacrifice 
life, limb or the ability to sleep without war's nightmares. We owe 
them not just thanks and best wishes, but action here in Congress. In 
today's ever-changing and perilous world, there is not a moment to 
lose.
                                 ______