[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 165 (Wednesday, September 23, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H4770-H4772]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1400
             EQUAL ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION FOR VETERANS ACT

  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3798) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for 
limitations on copayments for contraception furnished by the Department 
of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3798

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Equal Access to 
     Contraception for Veterans Act''.

     SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON COPAYMENTS FOR CONTRACEPTION.

       Section 1722A(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``to pay'' and all that follows through the 
     period and inserting ``to pay--''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
       ``(A) an amount in excess of the cost to the Secretary for 
     medication described in paragraph (1); or
       ``(B) an amount for any contraceptive item for which 
     coverage under health insurance coverage is required without 
     the imposition of any cost-sharing requirement pursuant to 
     section 2713(a)(4) of the Public Health Service Act (42 USC 
     300gg-13(a)(4)).''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Takano) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. David P. 
Roe) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous material on H.R. 3798, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 3798, as amended, eliminates copayments on 
contraceptive items at the Department of Veterans Affairs, ensuring 
that no veterans, especially women veterans, face economic barriers to 
a critical component of preventative healthcare.
  I thank Congresswoman Brownley for introducing this bill and for her 
efforts as chair of the Subcommittee on Health and the Women's Veterans 
Task Force.
  Contraception is an essential part of healthcare, and more than 99 
percent of women have used birth control at some point in their lives. 
Women veterans represent the fastest growing population of veterans 
accessing care through VA, and many are of reproductive age.
  Contraception is widely available at VA, and veterans enrolled at VA 
can obtain oral contraceptives, shots, skin patches, vaginal rings, and 
long-acting reversible contraceptives, such as implants or intrauterine 
devices or IUDs. In addition, the VA pharmacy dispenses over-the-
counter contraceptives, including condoms and emergency contraception.
  Requiring a copay for contraception creates an unnecessary economic 
barrier to preventative healthcare. Women veterans are more likely to 
live in poverty than male veterans, and transgender veterans are more 
likely to live in poverty than cisgender veterans. Even a small copay 
can be insurmountable for someone trying to make ends meet.
  Madam Speaker, passing this bill is especially critical during the 
pandemic. During times of crisis, such as natural disaster and 
pandemics, the rate of unplanned pregnancy increases. When so many 
Americans are experiencing economic hardship, their access to 
healthcare should be something that they do not have to worry about. 
This bill has wide VSO support and is also supported by the Department 
of Veterans Affairs.
  I, again, thank Ms. Brownley for her leadership on this issue. I 
thank Dr. Roe and the minority staff for working with us on this bill, 
and I look forward to working with our Senate counterparts to get it 
passed into law before the 116th Congress.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 3798, as amended, the Equal Access to 
Contraception for Veterans Act.
  This bill is sponsored by Congresswoman Julia Brownley from 
California. Congresswoman Brownley is the chairwoman of the 
Subcommittee on Health and the bipartisan Women's Veterans Task Force, 
and I am grateful for her hard work and steadfast commitment to 
improving care for all the men and women who have served our Nation in 
uniform.
  The Equal Access to Contraception Act would prevent the Department of 
Veterans Affairs from charging copayments for contraceptive items and 
services that veterans receive in the VA. This would create parity 
between the VA healthcare system and the rest of the healthcare 
industry, which already exempts prescriptions for contraception from 
cost-sharing requirements.
  Prior to coming to Congress, I spent 30 years in private practice as 
a board-certified OB/GYN physician, so I know firsthand the importance 
of reproductive care and regular access to contraception. I am proud to 
sponsor this bill today to increase access to contraception for the 
growing number of women who are volunteering for the military and 
enrolling in the VA healthcare system following their brave service.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Brownley), my good friend, the chairwoman of the 
Subcommittee on Health, and also the author of this important piece of 
legislation.
  Ms. BROWNLEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 3798, the Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act, my bill 
to ensure

[[Page H4771]]

that women veterans have access to the same contraception coverage as 
women currently serving in the military and on the same basis of women 
who receive private healthcare.
  I thank the chairman for working with me to advance this legislation, 
and I am proud that my bill passed the committee with broad bipartisan 
support.
  As you may know, because of the Affordable Care Act, all women using 
civilian health insurance may access basic contraceptive services, like 
the pill or an IUD, without a copay.
  Last year, the Access to Contraception for Servicemembers and 
Dependents Act passed with overwhelming bipartisan support as part of 
the annual National Defense Authorization Act to ensure that TRICARE 
also provides this basic health benefit to servicemembers and their 
dependents. While this was an important step, women veterans currently 
do not receive this benefit from the VA.
  Clearly, we need to make sure all women who have served our country 
receive the same care. My bill will fix this inequity.
  The benefits of contraception are widely recognized. Choosing when or 
if to have a family is essential to women's health and to their 
economic security.
  Today, there are 2 million women veterans living in the United 
States, and women comprise the fastest growing subpopulation of both 
the military and veteran populations. Yet, many of their health needs 
go unaddressed in a VA system that has not evolved to equitably serve a 
rapidly changing population.

  As the chairwoman of the Women's Veterans Task Force and chair of the 
House Veterans' Affairs' Subcommittee on Health, members of the task 
force and I have worked to identify disparities in healthcare for women 
veterans and, where necessary, introduce, advocate for, and pass 
legislation that eliminates those gaps.
  Mr. Speaker, our veterans have sacrificed so much for us and our 
country. It is way past time that we address this inequity and fix this 
glaring gap in care of our women veterans. I urge my colleagues to 
support our women veterans and vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3798.
  Mr. Speaker, before I conclude, I, too, would just like to publicly 
acknowledge my gratitude to Dr. Roe. When the Speaker says the 
``gentleman from Tennessee,'' I believe he truly is a gentleman in the 
eyes, I think, of all Members of Congress and, certainly, particularly 
mine.
  He is a great storyteller that underscores the point that he is 
making at all times. There is no question that his leadership and his 
advocacy for our veterans, both men and women, are untouchable and 
unwavering. I would say how much I have enjoyed working with him on the 
Committee of Veterans' Affairs, and I know that he will be missed by 
the entire House, but sorely missed within the Committee of Veterans' 
Affairs and our daily work there.
  I thank him for all that he has done. Whatever his next chapter is in 
his life, I hope that he and his new bride enjoy every minute of it.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I very, very much appreciate the incredibly kind words. 
Some of those stories are probably even true that I tell.
  Mr. Speaker, I would take a point of personal privilege before I 
close. This will probably be the last time I am down here to speak on 
the House floor as the ranking member of the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs before this Congress adjourns in January.
  Mr. Speaker, what an honor and privilege it has been. And you cannot 
be successful--and I think the chairman will also emphasize this--
without an incredible staff. I have been so blessed with very, very, 
very competent people on both sides of the aisle. And it has been fun 
working with Ray and the gentleman's staff, and I thank him for that. 
They have always been respectful, and I have appreciated that.
  Mr. Speaker, you know it is probably time to retire from Congress 
when you have delivered one of your staff members, which I have, that 
is on our side.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not about us. It is about the veterans that we 
serve--all of us in this incredible body. How many times in your life 
do you get an opportunity to really do good for people?
  I will tell you what has influenced me. I grew up in a military town, 
Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Clarksville, Tennessee, where the 101st 
Airborne is. My scoutmaster, First Sergeant Thomas E. Thayer, was 
killed in 1965 in Vietnam. He left four children. I saw what it did to 
that family. I have never forgotten that.
  After my service was over--I served in Korea in 1973-1974 in the 
Second Infantry Division--I came back home, saw what happened to our 
Nation's veterans, how they were treated. That has changed.
  I am thankful that this country no longer treats the veterans like 
they did my Vietnam brothers and sisters who served.
  We had the opportunity in this committee, in a bipartisan way, as I 
said, to make a difference. In the last Congress, we passed the 
Accountability and Whistleblower Protection bill; the Appeals 
Modernization that has helped so many people; the Forever GI Bill, and 
I used the GI bill when I got out of the military, and it helped me as 
a young family, and I know how it transformed this country after World 
War II; the MISSION Act, and I could go on and on--the bills we passed 
yesterday and the bills we passed today, and we will pass Congresswoman 
Brownley's bill in just a moment here.
  I got an email last week. We get these all the time. We talked about 
the blue water Navy for, I don't know, 10 years, I guess. I get this 
email from a widow, who is a veteran, whose husband died in his late 
forties with complications of Agent Orange. He served on a service ship 
outside Vietnam that offloaded Agent Orange.
  Finally, after all these years and the work, Mr. Speaker, we got this 
passed in February, I think, of 2019. She got backpay and a stipend for 
her and her family for the service that her husband had done. She was a 
veteran who had served, too, but not there. I thank the entire body for 
doing that because you made a difference in this veteran's life.
  Mr. Speaker, I, again, thank the body, the committee, all the people 
who have worked, and I certainly want to support Ms. Brownley's bill 
and her kind words--I much appreciate that--and I encourage all Members 
to vote for this.

  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, before I conclude my remarks on Ms. Brownley's important 
piece of legislation on making contraception available on the same 
basis as the Department of Defense, I, too, want to add my words of 
praise to my colleague and my partner in the work in the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs, Ranking Member Dr. Phil Roe.
  Mr. Speaker, he has so much to point to, the proud list of 
accomplishments: The Blue Water Navy bill was something that had a 
chain of ownership. I happened to be the last one on the chain. I know 
that the gentleman put a lot of work into that.
  Even as we approach the month of October, we know that, finally, they 
are going to implement the caregiver portion of that bill. What a 
tremendous expansion of caregiver benefits that were previously only 
available to post-9/11 veterans. I lament that it took that long, but 
it is here.
  Let's also think about the tremendous progress we made on 
homelessness. It is not done, and it is not over, but we made 
tremendous strides nationwide in reducing veteran homelessness. We just 
passed today a very comprehensive bill to deal with the remains of 
homelessness, which remains a very serious problem in my own home State 
of California.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Roe has helped shape our progress on veterans 
homelessness in so many areas of policy relating to our Nation's 
veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I join all of my colleagues in saying that the Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs will miss him.
  I know his storytelling, but I learned late this year of his 
affection for the late folksinger John Prine. I know Dr. Roe plays the 
guitar, and I hope that before he leaves, he will regale us at some 
point with either one of his songs or one of the songs that he likes to 
play on that guitar.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 
3798, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H4772]]

  


                              {time}  1415

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cuellar). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3798, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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