[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 72 (Thursday, May 26, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1127-E1128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 25, 2005

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1815) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2006 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense, to prescribe 
     military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2006, and for 
     other purposes:

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the 
Taylor Motion to Recommit today on the issue of providing full TRICARE 
to all members of the Guard and Reserve and their families. I am most 
outraged by the fact that there will be no consideration of the Taylor 
amendment on TRICARE for reservists as well as the Salazar amendment on 
ending the Military Families Tax and the Marshall amendment on ending 
the Disabled Veterans Tax. These amendments are three key provisions in 
the GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century, which House Democrats 
unveiled in March. It seems blatant, that the Rules Committee would not 
allow the full body to consider these vital amendments which could have 
greatly strengthened this Defense Authorization.
  My colleague Mr. Taylor's amendment would have provided full TRICARE 
to all members of the Guard and Reserve and their families. Currently, 
the Guard and Reserve are covered by TRICARE only when they are 
mobilized for active duty. Under the Taylor amendment, all members of 
the Guard and Reserve could buy into TRICARE for an affordable monthly 
premium. The Taylor amendment was in fact adopted by the Armed Services 
Committee by a vote of 32 to 30. However, after the mark-up, Chairman 
Hunter stripped the amendment from the bill based on a violation of the 
Budget Act, instead of allowing Representative Taylor to make a slight 
modification to his amendment which would have addressed the violation. 
It is the slightly modified version that Representative Taylor had 
sought the Rules Committee to make in order and which the Rules 
Committee has egregiously rejected for consideration. It is a travesty 
indeed because this amendment could have done so much good for so many 
Guardsmen and Reservists.
  The simple fact is that more than 433,000 of our National Guard and 
Reserves have been

[[Page E1128]]

called up over the past two and one-half years. Reserve Components make 
up almost 50 percent of our forces in Iraq. It is time that we as a 
body recognize their service to our nation by providing TRICARE for 
Reserve Component personnel on a permanent basis. It is disgraceful 
that this Congress will not demonstrate the level of commitment for its 
citizen-soldiers that they so richly deserve.

  I know how TRICARE is insufficient for our men and women fighting 
abroad, I've talked to many of them in my district and it's sad that we 
can't provide them with the support they need when they are the ones 
making the ultimate sacrifice. The cuts to TRICARE over the years are 
despicable and soon we will have almost nothing to offer our men and 
women fighting abroad in the area of domestic care. Among those in 
Houston who have been brave enough to serve is Texas State 
Representative Rick Noriega who is with the Texas Army National Guard. 
He has served as state representative for District 145 for 6 years and 
when he was called to duty in Afghanistan he went to serve his nation, 
truly an inspiration to many. However, he left behind a wife and two 
children, who were proud, but unfortunately they were left with 
insufficient coverage by TRICARE. His family has suffered harsh 
treatment because they demanded more from TRICARE and weren't receiving 
it. Their story is not uncommon throughout the nation. Many doctors 
won't accept TRICARE because it is inadequate. The sad fact is that 20 
percent of all Reservists do not have health insurance, and 40 percent 
of Reservists aged 19 to 35 lack health coverage according to a 2003 
report by the General Accounting Office. According to the latest 
Defense Department data, 18 percent of activated Reservists have no 
medical coverage. These facts are deplorable, I pray for families like 
State Representative Noriega's and others who don't have access to 
sufficient care. How can we say that we are proud of our men and women 
fighting abroad when we can't even care for them and their families 
when they return to this nation of ours?
  I can only hope in the future that such significant legislation as 
this will involve the debate and full consideration of all necessary 
and relevant amendments. The men and women of our Armed Forces and 
indeed the American people as a whole deserve as much. Again, I rise in 
full support of the Taylor Motion to Recommit and consider this truly 
vital amendment on TRICARE.

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