[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 130 (Tuesday, July 29, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4841]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3097. Mr. CRUZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2026 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; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

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

     SEC. 724. PRESERVATION OF DEDICATED AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION 
                   CAPABILITY OF MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS OF THE 
                   ARMY.

       (a) In General.--The Medical Service Corps of the Army 
     shall maintain a dedicated aeromedical evacuation capability, 
     including personnel, training, doctrine, and aircraft 
     specifically configured for aeromedical evacuation missions.
       (b) Clarification of Authority.--The Secretary of the Army 
     shall ensure that--
       (1) the aviation branch of the Army has the authority to 
     organize, train, and equip aviation assets in accordance with 
     operational requirements; and
       (2) the medical department of the Army, under the authority 
     delegated to such department by the Surgeon General of the 
     Army, has the authority for medical command and control, 
     patient care responsibilities, and clinical standards for 
     aeromedical evacuation operations.
       (c) Elements of Capability.--The Secretary of the Army 
     shall maintain the capability required under subsection (a)--
       (1) in alignment with the sufficiency analysis of the 
     Surgeon General of the Army;
       (2) consistent with medical evacuation doctrine and 
     operational planning assumptions of the Army; and
       (3) in support of--
       (A) the commanders of the combatant commands;
       (B) contingency operations and operational plans;
       (C) civil authorities;
       (D) chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear 
     response force missions;
       (E) humanitarian assistance and disaster response 
     operations; and
       (F) garrison emergency medical response operations at 
     installations of the Department of Defense.
       (d) Change in Structure.--
       (1) In general.--The capability required under subsection 
     (a) shall remain a distinct component within the Medical 
     Service Corps of the Army and may not be restructured into 
     general-purpose aviation elements or dual-use configurations 
     without prior notification to the congressional defense 
     committees, which shall--
       (A) be accompanied by a formal risk assessment on--
       (i) operational medical readiness of the Medical Service 
     Corps; and
       (ii) readiness of the Medical Service Corps to support the 
     joint force and missions specified under subsection (c)(3); 
     and
       (B) contain a report that--
       (i) is based on the force structure authorizations outlined 
     in the most current Army Structure Message;
       (ii) is informed by the most current Total Army Analysis 
     approved by the Secretary of the Army; and
       (iii) does not propose or assume any changes to the 
     aircraft authorizations reflected in the documents specified 
     in clauses (i) and (ii).
       (2) Operational medical requirements and joint force 
     needs.--Any adjustments made to the force structure of the 
     aeromedical evacuation capability of the Army must account 
     for operational medical requirements and joint force needs 
     where the Surgeon General of the Army retains authority over 
     the medical force structure, staffing, clinical oversight, 
     and doctrinal development for aeromedical evacuation units.
       (e) Change to Allocations.--The Secretary of the Army may 
     not make any changes to allocations for the Medical Service 
     Corps of the Army that is inconsistent with the requirements 
     of this section without prior consultation with the Surgeon 
     General of the Army, who shall certify that the proposed 
     changes are supported by a sufficiency analysis and that the 
     revised platform levels remain adequate to support all 
     mission categories requiring aeromedical evacuation, 
     consistent with medical evacuation doctrine and operational 
     planning assumptions of the Army.
       (f) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the 
     date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act.
       (g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
     construed to prohibit augmentation of military patient 
     movement operations with combatant, commercial, or allied 
     assets in contingency or humanitarian operations, as 
     determined necessary by the Secretary of Defense.
                                 ______