[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 89 (Thursday, June 4, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3797-S3798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1658. Mr. McCAIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 1463 proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense and for military construction, to 
prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle B of title VII, add the following:

     SEC. 721. ESTABLISHMENT OF STRATEGIC UNIFORM DRUG FORMULARY 
                   FOR THE PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES TO 
                   MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES UNDERGOING 
                   SEPARATION FROM THE ARMED FORCES.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary 
     of Veterans Affairs shall jointly establish a process to make 
     available to individuals undergoing the transition from the 
     receipt of health care services through the Department of 
     Defense to the receipt of such services through the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs systemic pain and psychotropic 
     drugs that are critical to the Department of Defense and the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs for the appropriate and 
     effective provision of health care services to such 
     individuals.

[[Page S3798]]

       (b) Strategic Uniform Formulary.--
       (1) In general.--In carrying out subsection (a), the 
     Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
     shall jointly establish, and from time to time update, a 
     strategic, evidence-based, uniform formulary for the 
     Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     that includes all appropriate systemic pain and psychotropic 
     drugs that the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs jointly determine are critical to the 
     Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     for the appropriate and effective provision of health care 
     services to individuals described in such subsection.
       (2) Inapplicability of certain provisions of law.--Section 
     1074g of title 10, United States Code, shall not apply to the 
     establishing and updating of the formulary required by 
     paragraph (1).
       (c) Preservation of Authority.--Nothing in this section 
     shall be construed to prohibit the Secretary of Defense and 
     the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from each maintaining their 
     own formularies.
       (d) Report.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall jointly submit to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 
     establishment of the formulary under subsection (b).
       (2) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this 
     subsection, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
     means--
       (A) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives.
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