[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 44 (Monday, March 22, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S1814]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. WEBB:
  S. 3148. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
for the treatment of Department of Defense health coverage as minimal 
essential coverage; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. WEBB. Mr. President, today I introduced a bill that speaks 
directly to the welfare of our military service members and their 
families. TRICARE, TRICARE for Life, and the nonappropriated fund 
health plans are the programs that provide health care for our men and 
women in uniform, their families, retirees, and other eligible 
individuals. These programs, as well as today's military veterans 
health care system, exceed the minimum essential coverage for 
individual health insurance required by the health care reform bill 
passed yesterday by the House of Representatives.
  I am pleased to offer a companion bill to one introduced last week by 
my good friend, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, 
that explicitly protects TRICARE and NAF health plans. Representative 
Skelton's bill, which passed Saturday by a vote of 403 to 0, makes it 
perfectly clear that no TRICARE or NAF health plan beneficiary will be 
required to purchase additional coverage beyond what they already have.
  My companion legislation to Chairman Skelton's provides a similar 
reassurance to our servicemembers and their families. It will amend the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in a way that stipulates that Department 
of Defense TRICARE health-care coverage will be treated as minimal 
essential coverage under the health care reform bill when it is signed 
into law by the President.
  There has been a great deal of confusion over the past year 
surrounding the future of TRICARE and other military health care 
programs. False allegations have been raised, for example, that the 
administration planned changes to TRICARE for Life that would 
jeopardize its future or substantially raise its cost for 
beneficiaries. It is important to set the record straight.
  In my capacity as the chairman of the Personnel Subcommittee of the 
Senate Committee on Armed Services, I am committed to protecting the 
health care coverage programs in place for the military today.
  Supporting this bill will reassure our service members that the 
coverage provided by TRICARE and nonppropriated health plans is 
properly protected in law as meeting the requirements for individual 
health insurance mandated by the new health care reform bill. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. BEGICH (for himself and Mrs. Murray):
  S. 3150. A bill to increase the mileage reimbursement rate for 
members of the armed services during permanent change of station and to 
authorize the transportation of additional motor vehicles of members on 
change of permanent station to or from nonforeign areas outside the 
continental United States; to the Committee on Armed Services.
  Mr. BEGICH. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill entitled the 
Service Members Permanent Change of Station Relief Act--or PCS Relief 
Act. I am proud to introduce this legislation and thank my cosponsor 
Senator Patty Murray. This bill will provide our servicemembers and 
their families much-needed financial relief during these hard economic 
times.
  Like most families, our servicemembers are pinching their pennies 
too. Unfortunately, often they incur many unnecessary financial burdens 
related to their service and their sacrifice. For instance, right now, 
our servicemembers with spouses and children are only reimbursed for 
shipping one vehicle to or from Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam during a 
permanent change of station. This means if they get directed to move to 
a military base in Alaska from Texas, or to Texas from Alaska, they 
must pay to transport a second car themselves, or they must sell their 
vehicle and purchase a new car at the next location. This can be a 
costly option.
  However, many military families cannot afford to ship a second 
vehicle or purchase another car. Without a second vehicle, spouses and 
children who accompany a servicemember on a permanent change of station 
may be unable to hold a job, run daily errands, or otherwise 
participate in their new communities. Many States have large military 
bases, such as Joint Base Elmendorf and Fort Richardson in Alaska. With 
housing on one end and base services on another, some families cannot 
even get to the grocery store or take their children to a doctor in an 
emergency.
  Colleagues, it is unacceptable that we put our military families in a 
position where they have to make a choice between the inability to meet 
daily needs and take care of their family in an emergency, or pay more 
than $1,500 to ship a second vehicle. Under the PCS Relief Act, our 
military families will be able to ship a second car to and from Hawaii, 
Alaska, and Guam to ease the hardships and alleviate needless costs.
  To further alleviate needless costs, the legislation will increase 
the gas mileage reimbursement rate during a permanent change in 
station. Currently, when our personnel drive from one military base to 
the next on their government-directed move, they are reimbursed less 
than half the amount they get under temporary duty assignments. The 
temporary duty reimbursement rate reflects the true cost of operating a 
vehicle. The current PCS reimbursement rate of 16 cents per mile does 
not, creating yet another financial burden for servicemembers.
  It doesn't make any sense that gas mileage reimbursement rates are 
different amounts for PCS and TDY. Our servicemembers get official 
orders to move. It is not optional.
  They are both official business expenditures. We already ask so much 
of our servicemembers and their families. They are fighting two wars. 
They move at the military services' direction, relocating themselves 
and their families to new military bases every few years. It is unfair 
we are asking them to pay out of pocket on these government-directed 
moves, or experience unwarranted and pointless hardships due to 
financial constraints.
  In these tough economic times, it is more important than ever that we 
show our support for our servicemembers and their families. Relieving 
stress and strain during a permanent change in station is the least we 
can do. I ask my colleagues to support the Service Members PCS Relief 
Act.

                          ____________________