[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 52 (Wednesday, April 14, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H2564]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                TRICARE DEPENDENT COVERAGE EXTENSION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Heinrich) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. Speaker, our brave men and women in uniform 
sacrifice so much for our Nation, and it is our duty to keep our 
promise that they have the benefits that they deserve and have earned 
through their service.
  I know that many are familiar with the sentiment that a veteran, 
whether active duty, retired National Guard, Reserve, is someone who at 
one point in his or her life wrote a blank check made payable to the 
United States of America for an amount of up to and including their 
life.
  We all know that the families of our men and women in uniform share 
the burden of this service to our Nation. To ease this burden, I 
introduced H.R. 4923, the TRICARE Dependent Coverage Extension Act.
  H.R. 4923 would ensure that our Nation's troops and military retirees 
are able to provide health coverage to their dependent children up to 
the age of 26. This is one of the most popular provisions in the 
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the health insurance 
overhaul that Congress passed and that President Obama signed into law 
last month.
  However, health insurance for our Nation's military servicemembers, 
retirees, and their families is under the control of the U.S. 
Department of Defense, so this benefit for dependent children was not 
extended to military families.
  Contrary to some misinformation we've heard, TRICARE was not altered, 
changed, modified in any way by the Patient Protection and Affordable 
Care Act. The good news is that H.R. 4923 would now provide dependent 
children of military families with the same benefits given to civilian 
children. Specifically, this bill would amend Title 10 to change the 
maximum age of coverage for children from 23 to 26, and it would take 
effect October 1 of this year.
  Currently, in order for dependent children to remain in the TRICARE 
system, they need to be attending college full time and only up to the 
age of 23. However, the new policy in H.R. 4923 would allow all 
dependent children to be covered until age 26, whether or not they're 
full-time students.
  I'm proud to tell you that that bill is supported by a growing number 
of veterans' service organizations, including the Military Officers 
Association of America, the National Guard Association of the United 
States, and the Air Force Association.
  Mr. Speaker, allowing parents to provide health coverage to their 
dependent children is just one way we can show our military families 
how much we appreciate them. With each individual who generously 
dedicates their life to military service, there is a significant impact 
on those closest to them. We know this especially well in New Mexico 
where we have a long and proud tradition of military service.
  Each time a soldier leaves home, they leave behind caring husbands 
and wives, loving sons and daughters, worried parents and whole 
communities that remain concerned for their safety. Our military 
families stand behind our troops and lift them up. They make 
significant sacrifices just like our servicemembers do.
  Let's honor their service to our Nation by ensuring that their health 
coverage meets the same standard that we have set for the rest of 
America and nothing less.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to cosponsor this important 
legislation.

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