[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5330]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



ELIMINATING RED TAPE AND OFFERING FULL HEALTH CARE CHOICES FOR MILITARY 
                               DEPENDENTS

  (Mr. RYUN of Kansas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RYUN of Kansas. Madam Speaker, the dedication of our military 
spouses is invaluable, and I want to ensure that they are treated right 
with respect to health care.
  Currently, military dependents who use one of the military's choice-
related health plans do so believing that they can choose their doctor. 
But when they become pregnant, they can be forced to change from a 
civilian provider to an on-base doctor even for delivery.
  It is essential that a woman be comfortable with her doctor for this 
experience. To force a woman to change doctors at a time as critical as 
pregnancy is unacceptable.
  That is why I am introducing legislation to eliminate burdensome red 
tape and to put women back in charge of their pregnancy-related health 
care plans.
  If we want to continue to attract the high-quality people for our 
armed services, the people who defend this country and are defending us 
now, we must make sure they have all the health care provisions they 
should be entitled to.

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