[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 27, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5782-H5784]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 5515, NATIONAL DEFENSE 
                 AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019

  Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 5515) to authorize appropriations for 
fiscal year 2019 for military activities of the Department of Defense, 
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department 
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal 
year, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, 
disagree to the Senate amendment, and request a conference with the 
Senate thereon.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to instruct conferees at 
the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. Carbajal moves that the managers on the part of the 
     House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two 
     Houses on the Senate amendment to the bill H.R. 5515 be 
     instructed to agree to section 703 of the Senate bill.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XXII, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Carbajal) and the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Thornberry) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members

[[Page H5783]]

have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the 
motion to instruct.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this motion would bring TRICARE contraception on par 
with the Affordable Care Act by prohibiting cost sharing for any method 
of contraception provided in the TRICARE retail pharmacy network or 
mail order.
  Mr. Speaker, our Nation's servicemembers should be provided the same 
access to preventive healthcare as those insured under the Affordable 
Care Act.
  Currently, TRICARE beneficiaries, including non-Active servicemembers 
and their dependents, and certain Active military members, do not have 
the same access to cost-free preventive care as civilians do.
  By requiring coverage for contraceptives with no out-of-pocket costs, 
the ACA increases women's access to contraceptives and saves women $255 
per year, on average. This is a benefit we currently deny our female 
servicemembers. One-third of our U.S. military are women. Currently, 
about 15 percent of Active Duty servicemembers and 19 percent of the 
Reserve forces are comprised of women.
  Women are bravely serving in all parts of the military, including 
infantry and other combat units. Servicewomen are continuing to break 
barriers across the military, proving again and again that they are 
indispensable when it comes to defending this Nation.
  Unfortunately, this House continues to refuse these brave 
servicemembers access to the same healthcare that all civilian females 
have access to.
  Preventive healthcare services, including contraception, should be 
provided to all TRICARE beneficiaries without any copays. Access to 
preventive healthcare is vital for the health and quality of life of 
all women serving this Nation, but it is also critical to the readiness 
of our military.
  In 2008, researchers found that the rate of unintended pregnancy was 
roughly 50 percent higher among servicemembers compared to the general 
population. This problem is made worse by the fact that it is often 
difficult for female servicemembers to access this preventive 
medication in the field.
  Another recent study found that, among servicemembers who use 
contraceptives, only 24 percent brought enough medication to last their 
entire deployment. Forty-one percent of those needing refills found 
them difficult to obtain while deployed on Active Duty.
  We should not make it more difficult for these women to access 
contraception by asking them to pay for medication that the civilian 
population already receives at no cost. We are doing an absolute 
disservice to those who are willing to sacrifice their lives to defend 
our Nation every day by denying them preventive healthcare that is 
critical to treat certain health conditions and for family planning.
  The Senate has included this TRICARE provision in their bill for the 
past 2 years because they understand this issue goes beyond political 
parties and personal views. This is about the health and well-being of 
those who are sacrificing their lives every day to defend our Nation. 
This is about providing the resources and delivering policies to the 
military that will increase readiness.
  This motion would provide all servicemembers access to preventive 
healthcare, which they not only deserve, but are entitled to, and I 
would say earned.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues, today, to put politics aside and 
follow in the Senate's footsteps and support this motion.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1515

  Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from California has just laid out a number 
of arguments in support of a Senate provision. There are obviously 
Members who may think differently on his arguments, although I do not 
believe this is the time or the place to have that debate. That will be 
discussed in the course of the upcoming conference with the Senate.
  At this point, I would just like to offer two thoughts. One is the 
provision that the gentleman talks about requires that there be a 
mandatory spending offset. Now, when you look for how that spending can 
be offset, really, the Armed Services Committee only has two ways: one 
is to increase TRICARE copays, pharmacy copays, and the second one is 
to reduce retirement benefits. So I notice that the gentleman's motion 
to instruct does not deal with that part of the equation.
  My thought is that it is far better to look at the whole universe of 
issues in the course of a conference rather than to try to dictate one 
outcome or another that doesn't include how you pay for something.
  Second point, Mr. Speaker, there are 907 House provisions and 603 
Senate provisions that will be the subject of this conference. They 
will all have to be hashed out in one way or another, but the conferees 
should have the flexibility to deal with all of those 907 and 603 
provisions in a way that makes the most sense for national security.
  So my suggestion is that the House reject this particular motion and 
allow the conferees to do their work in looking at the whole universe 
of what is best for the men and women who serve and what is best for 
the country's national security.
  Mr. Speaker, I would inform the gentleman that I have no further 
speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate those comments from my good friend and 
chairman of the Armed Services Committee, but the fact of the matter is 
that, for 2 years, we have not been able, in conference, to address 
this very important issue. There is always one excuse or a barrier 
raised at one time or another. And, in fact, what ends up resulting is 
our servicewomen, who are putting their lives on the line for our 
country, are being treated as second-class citizens. They are not 
afforded the same equality as their male counterparts and those in the 
civilian world.
  Mr. Speaker, what this motion does is simply achieve parity with 
prevailing law. I want to point out that TRICARE beneficiaries want 
this parity, and it is time we finally deliver.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this motion. Let us 
finally provide all servicemembers with the same access to preventive 
healthcare that we all have access to.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume just to say that there are a number of provisions which Members 
on one side or the other consider inequitable, and a big part of the 
challenge we face is, okay, to enact a particular provision, you have 
to pay for it.
  So my point is we need to look at the whole universe not only of what 
we would like to have done, but also of how it would be paid for.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is 
ordered on the motion to instruct.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to instruct.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.
  Mr. CARBAJAL. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, this 15-
minute vote on the motion to instruct conferees will be followed by a 
5-minute vote on the motion to close conference.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 188, 
nays 231, not voting 8, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 300]

                               YEAS--188

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos

[[Page H5784]]


     Butterfield
     Capuano
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Cooper
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Crist
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Esty (CT)
     Evans
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Gomez
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hanabusa
     Hastings
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kihuen
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kind
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster (NH)
     Lamb
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham, M.
     Lujan, Ben Ray
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Moulton
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nolan
     Norcross
     O'Halleran
     O'Rourke
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Rosen
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Sires
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Speier
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                               NAYS--231

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Banks (IN)
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (MI)
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Blum
     Bost
     Brady (TX)
     Brat
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chabot
     Cheney
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Comer
     Comstock
     Conaway
     Cook
     Costello (PA)
     Crawford
     Culberson
     Curbelo (FL)
     Curtis
     Davidson
     Davis, Rodney
     Denham
     DeSantis
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Donovan
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Dunn
     Emmer
     Estes (KS)
     Faso
     Ferguson
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Frelinghuysen
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Garrett
     Gianforte
     Gibbs
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guthrie
     Handel
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hensarling
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice, Jody B.
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Holding
     Hollingsworth
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurd
     Issa
     Jenkins (KS)
     Jenkins (WV)
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger
     Knight
     Kustoff (TN)
     Labrador
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latta
     Lesko
     Lewis (MN)
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Loudermilk
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     MacArthur
     Marchant
     Marino
     Marshall
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meadows
     Messer
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Newhouse
     Noem
     Norman
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Pittenger
     Poe (TX)
     Poliquin
     Posey
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Rice (SC)
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney, Francis
     Rooney, Thomas J.
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Rouzer
     Royce (CA)
     Russell
     Rutherford
     Sanford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smucker
     Stefanik
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Taylor
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tipton
     Trott
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walker
     Walorski
     Walters, Mimi
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (IA)
     Zeldin

                             NOT VOTING--8

     Black
     Cramer
     Crowley
     Gosar
     Rush
     Thompson (MS)
     Tsongas
     Walz

                              {time}  1547

  Messrs. DUNCAN of South Carolina, POSEY, LaMALFA, GAETZ, LONG, YOUNG 
of Alaska, and LOUDERMILK changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Ms. ADAMS, Messrs. LARSON of Connecticut and HASTINGS, and Ms. 
McCOLLUM changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the motion to instruct conferees was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________