[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 151 (Thursday, November 29, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7134-S7136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. I wish to commend the
work of my colleagues on the committee, particularly Chairman Levin,
who is here, and Ranking Member McCain, for their incredible diligence,
dedication, and commitment to the men and women of our Armed Forces.
For 50 consecutive years, the Senate has passed a Defense
authorization bill, and I hope very much that we will soon be able to
send the President a bill for his signature consistent with that record
of faithful service to those who
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serve us so faithfully. We owe it to our servicemembers and to the
Nation to quickly but very deliberately pass this legislation and send
it forward to the President. We made tough decisions putting this bill
together--especially in these difficult economic times--but I am
confident this bill provides a budget that allows the DOD to combat
current threats, plan for future threats, and to provide for the
welfare of our extraordinary men and women in uniform.
I wish to note a few issues in this legislation.
First, we have endeavored to make improvements to the Military
Lending Act, which Congress passed in 2006 in order to protect Active-
Duty servicemembers and their families from some types of high-cost
loans and unfair credit practices. The Military Lending Act imposed a
36-percent annual percentage rate cap on certain types of consumer
credit extended to servicemembers. Our intention was to protect Active-
Duty servicemembers and their families from high-cost loans and unfair
credit practices. Unfortunately, lenders have been finding ways to
circumvent these regulations. For example, some payday lenders have
made superficial changes to the structure of their loans, styling them
as ``open-end'' credit or setting the terms slightly longer than the
regulations to get around the rules under the Department of Defense of
what constitutes ``consumer credit.''
I am pleased that provisions I added to the underlying bill address
some of these problems with targeted changes to improve how this law is
implemented. In particular, it removes definitional loopholes to ensure
that payday and car title loans, whether structured as closed-ended or
open-ended credit, are subject to the 36-percent cap and other
protections of the MLA. Let me underscore the 36-percent cap. We are
talking about a very generous rate of return on these loans to lenders,
particularly in the context of very low rates across the economy. It
also requires the DOD to review its MLA rules periodically and to
consult with financial regulators biannually to determine if new credit
products are harming servicemembers and should be covered by the
Military Lending Act protections.
The bill has been strengthened by the recent passage of an amendment
offered by Senator Mark Udall to remove a provision in the Senate Armed
Services Committee-reported bill that would have limited the ability of
the Department of Defense to purchase alternative fuels, such as
advanced biofuels. I voted against this provision in the committee and
joined my colleagues in urging a vote for this amendment. Reducing our
dependence on oil requires a smart, balanced, and responsible energy
policy, one that involves all government agencies, including the
Department of Defense. I am pleased that the Department of Defense will
retain the flexibility to pursue alternative fuel technologies that not
only help them achieve their mission but also help our country reduce
our dependence on oil.
In addition, Senator Hagan has offered an amendment to remove a
provision that would prohibit the DOD from being able to enter into
contracts for the planning, construction, or retrofitting of plants and
refineries to produce advanced biofuels. I opposed this provision in
the committee and encourage my colleagues to support Senator Hagan's
amendment.
I am also working on a few amendments I would like to mention. One
would provide further consumer credit protections for servicemembers,
another would limit the increases of out-of-pocket prescription drug
costs, and a third would create a pilot program to allow nonprofits to
apply for grants to rehabilitate and modify homes for disabled
veterans.
My amendment No. 3014 would further improve the Military Lending Act
provisions in the underlying bill by strengthening its enforcement.
During the past 5 years, we have learned that enforcement rules
provided in the MLA are not up to the task. Currently, if a lender
violates the Military Lending Act, it is a criminal misdemeanor, with
violators to be fined as provided for in title XVIII or up to 1 year
imprisonment or both. Criminal liability attaches only for knowingly
violating the statute.
My amendment will clarify that all Federal agencies that enforce
Federal credit laws can enforce the Military Lending Act. In addition,
it will ensure that State attorneys general and State credit regulators
who license and supervise many of the lenders who lend to our
servicemembers and their families can enforce the Federal law
protections provided by the Military Lending Act. I believe our service
men and women need a full panoply of protection not just from the
Department of Defense but from every Federal agency involved in these
issues, including State and local agencies. I honestly believe that
State and local officials, particularly where there are major
installations, vigorously want to protect the rights and the benefits
of our men and women in uniform, and they should have that opportunity.
Comprehensive and fair enforcement of the Military Lending Act is
critical to Active-Duty servicemembers and their families. My amendment
is supported by the Fleet Reserve Association, the Military Officers
Association of America, the National Association of Consumer Advocates,
the Military Justice Project, the National Military Family Association,
Americans for Financial Reform, the Center for Responsible Lending, the
Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumer Law Center on
behalf of its low-income clients, and the U.S. PIRG. All of these
agencies recognize the need to protect our men and women in uniform.
I have joined with Senators Rubio, McCaskill, and Whitehouse to
introduce amendment No. 3017 to curb the out-of-pocket prescription
drug costs proposed for TRICARE beneficiaries. The Department of
Defense has proposed an increase in prescription drug copayments for
TRICARE beneficiaries. In some cases, copayments could almost double or
even triple. For example, under the proposal, out-of-pocket costs for a
brandname drug picked up at a local pharmacy would more than double,
increasing from $12 to $26. Ensuring the fiscal soundness of TRICARE is
critical, but we should limit the burden on beneficiaries in our
efforts to shore up the program.
This amendment would curb the out-of-pocket prescription drug costs
proposed for TRICARE beneficiaries. For instance, instead of paying $26
for a brandname drug, a TRICARE beneficiary would pay $17 at a retail
pharmacy, a $5 increase from last year as opposed to a $14 increase.
DOD would be prohibited from instituting dramatic increases in
prescription drug copayments in future years. Copayments could only
increase at the rate of the annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA.
To protect beneficiaries from out-of-pocket increases, the amendment
proposes to achieve the necessary savings by requiring the Secretary to
enroll beneficiaries age 65 and older with maintenance medication--that
is, medications for chronic conditions--in a 5-year mail order pharmacy
pilot program. Beneficiaries would be eligible to opt out of the mail
order program after 1 year if they felt it did not adequately meet
their needs.
To ensure TRICARE beneficiaries have access to their prescription
medications, they would be able to secure an initial 30-day fill at a
local retail pharmacy. And the amendment ensures that they will not be
denied a maintenance medication at a retail pharmacy if they ever find
themselves running low and in need of a quick refill.
The amendment would expressly prohibit the Secretary from including
medications for acute care needs in the mail order pilot program, as
well as medications dispensed to residents of long-term care
facilities. The Secretary would also have the discretion to exempt
other medications and other populations.
This amendment is supported by the Military Coalition, a group of 30
organizations representing more than 5.5 million members of the uniform
services--active, Reserve, retired, survivors, veterans--and their
families.
My third amendment, No. 3165, which is identical to the Housing
Assistance for Veterans Act that I recently introduced, would create a
new pilot program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development
that would provide home rehabilitation and modification for veterans
who are low income or disabled and who own their homes or are living in
the owner-occupied home of a family member.
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This amendment fills a crucial gap because it would serve all
veterans with disabilities, regardless of the severity of the
disability and whether the disability is service connected or not.
With this amendment, eligible veterans would have the opportunity to
renovate and modify their existing homes by installing wheelchair
ramps, widening doors, re-equipping rooms, and making necessary
additions and adjustments to existing structures--all so these homes
are more suitable and safer for our veterans.
I hope we can work together to consider these amendments, and other
amendments that have been proposed by my colleagues.
As for the underlying bill, I wish to point out a few more of its
highlights.
The bill authorizes a 1.7-percent across-the-board pay raise and
reauthorizes over 30 types of bonuses and special payments for our men
and women in uniform.
It authorizes the Secretary of Defense to carry out a research
program with community partners to enhance DOD efforts in research,
treatment, education, and outreach on mental health, substance use
disorders, and traumatic brain injury in Guard and Reserve members,
their families, and their caregivers--a provision which I worked on
with Senator Ayotte to have included in this bill. We have an
incredible problem with respect to returning veterans, active-duty
personnel, and their families in addressing their mental health
challenges, and unless we fully engage all the resources across this
country, we will not be able to successfully meet the needs of these
young men and women. We hope this amendment will help in that regard.
The legislation also extends authorities to continue several ``train
and equip'' programs to assist foreign militaries in counterterrorism
and counternarcotics missions. This is one of the emerging and critical
roles that in the future we must embrace and support.
Additionally, the legislation authorizes $5.7 billion for the
Afghanistan Security Forces Fund to build the capacity of the Afghan
Army and police so those forces can continue to take the security lead
throughout Afghanistan. Once again, this is a central foundation to our
plans to withdraw the vast majority of our forces by 2014.
This year once again I had the honor of serving as the chairman of
the Seapower Subcommittee, alongside Senator Wicker, my colleague from
Mississippi, the ranking member. Working together, our subcommittee
focused on the needs of the Navy, the Marine Corps, and strategic
mobility forces. We put particular emphasis on supporting marine and
naval forces engaged in combat operations, improving efficiencies, and
applying the savings to higher priority programs.
Specifically, the bill includes the required funding for two
Virginia-class submarines, provides multiyear procurement authority to
the Navy to purchase the next block of submarines, authorizes the Navy
to use incremental funding to buy an additional Virginia-class
submarine in fiscal year 2014, and provides an additional $777.7
million in advance procurement for that second boat in 2014.
The bill also approves the funding for other major programs,
including the DDG-1000, the Aircraft Carrier Replacement Program, the
DDG-51 Aegis destroyer program, the Littoral Combat Ship, the Joint
High Speed Vessel, and the P-8 maritime patrol aircraft.
I am particularly pleased about the funding for the Virginia-class
submarines and the DDG-1000, which so many Rhode Islanders help to
build.
We also included language that would permit the Navy to use multiyear
procurement authority to buy the V-22 Osprey aircraft and the Arleigh
Burke-class destroyers so we can procure these platforms as efficiently
as possible.
I want to offer my particular thanks to Senator Wicker, the other
members of the Seapower Subcommittee, and our staffs who have done an
extraordinary job through their diligence, their dedication, and their
profound commitment to the men and women, particularly, of the Navy and
the Marine Corps.
We have a good bill before the Senate. I urge adoption of the
amendments I have discussed, and I would urge very quickly and very
timely the passage of the legislation so we can once again send the
Defense authorization bill to the President for his signature.
With that, I yield the floor.
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