[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15808-15810]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the National 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year

[[Page 15809]]

2013. I wish to commend the work of my colleagues on the committee, 
particularly Chairman Levin, who is here, and Ranking Member McCain, 
for their incredible diligence, dedication, and commitment to the men 
and women of our Armed Forces.
  For 50 consecutive years, the Senate has passed a Defense 
authorization bill, and I hope very much that we will soon be able to 
send the President a bill for his signature consistent with that record 
of faithful service to those who serve us so faithfully. We owe it to 
our servicemembers and to the Nation to quickly but very deliberately 
pass this legislation and send it forward to the President. We made 
tough decisions putting this bill together--especially in these 
difficult economic times--but I am confident this bill provides a 
budget that allows the DOD to combat current threats, plan for future 
threats, and to provide for the welfare of our extraordinary men and 
women in uniform.
  I wish to note a few issues in this legislation.
  First, we have endeavored to make improvements to the Military 
Lending Act, which Congress passed in 2006 in order to protect active-
duty servicemembers and their families from some types of high-cost 
loans and unfair credit practices. The Military Lending Act imposed a 
36-percent annual percentage rate cap on certain types of consumer 
credit extended to servicemembers. Our intention was to protect active-
duty servicemembers and their families from high-cost loans and unfair 
credit practices. Unfortunately, lenders have been finding ways to 
circumvent these regulations. For example, some payday lenders have 
made superficial changes to the structure of their loans, styling them 
as ``open-end'' credit or setting the terms slightly longer than the 
regulations to get around the rules under the Department of Defense of 
what constitutes ``consumer credit.''
  I am pleased that provisions I added to the underlying bill address 
some of these problems with targeted changes to improve how this law is 
implemented. In particular, it removes definitional loopholes to ensure 
that payday and car title loans, whether structured as closed-ended or 
open-ended credit, are subject to the 36-percent cap and other 
protections of the MLA. Let me underscore the 36-percent cap. We are 
talking about a very generous rate of return on these loans to lenders, 
particularly in the context of very low rates across the economy. It 
also requires the DOD to review its MLA rules periodically and to 
consult with financial regulators biannually to determine if new credit 
products are harming servicemembers and should be covered by the 
Military Lending Act protections.
  The bill has been strengthened by the recent passage of an amendment 
offered by Senator Mark Udall to remove a provision in the Senate Armed 
Services Committee-reported bill that would have limited the ability of 
the Department of Defense to purchase alternative fuels, such as 
advanced biofuels. I voted against this provision in the committee and 
joined my colleagues in urging a vote for this amendment. Reducing our 
dependence on oil requires a smart, balanced, and responsible energy 
policy, one that involves all government agencies, including the 
Department of Defense. I am pleased that the Department of Defense will 
retain the flexibility to pursue alternative fuel technologies that not 
only help them achieve their mission but also help our country reduce 
our dependence on oil.
  In addition, Senator Hagan has offered an amendment to remove a 
provision that would prohibit the DOD from being able to enter into 
contracts for the planning, construction, or retrofitting of plants and 
refineries to produce advanced biofuels. I opposed this provision in 
the committee and encourage my colleagues to support Senator Hagan's 
amendment.
  I am also working on a few amendments I would like to mention. One 
would provide further consumer credit protections for servicemembers, 
another would limit the increases of out-of-pocket prescription drug 
costs, and a third would create a pilot program to allow nonprofits to 
apply for grants to rehabilitate and modify homes for disabled 
veterans.
  My amendment No. 3014 would further improve the Military Lending Act 
provisions in the underlying bill by strengthening its enforcement. 
During the past 5 years, we have learned that enforcement rules 
provided in the MLA are not up to the task. Currently, if a lender 
violates the Military Lending Act, it is a criminal misdemeanor, with 
violators to be fined as provided for in title XVIII or up to 1 year 
imprisonment or both. Criminal liability attaches only for knowingly 
violating the statute.
  My amendment will clarify that all Federal agencies that enforce 
Federal credit laws can enforce the Military Lending Act. In addition, 
it will ensure that State attorneys general and State credit regulators 
who license and supervise many of the lenders who lend to our 
servicemembers and their families can enforce the Federal law 
protections provided by the Military Lending Act. I believe our 
servicemen and -women need a full panoply of protection not just from 
the Department of Defense but from every Federal agency involved in 
these issues, including State and local agencies. I honestly believe 
that State and local officials, particularly where there are major 
installations, vigorously want to protect the rights and the benefits 
of our men and women in uniform, and they should have that opportunity.
  Comprehensive and fair enforcement of the Military Lending Act is 
critical to active-duty servicemembers and their families. My amendment 
is supported by the Fleet Reserve Association, the Military Officers 
Association of America, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, 
the Military Justice Project, the National Military Family Association, 
Americans for Financial Reform, the Center for Responsible Lending, the 
Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumer Law Center on 
behalf of its low-income clients, and the U.S. PIRG. All of these 
agencies recognize the need to protect our men and women in uniform.
  I have joined with Senators Rubio, McCaskill, and Whitehouse to 
introduce amendment No. 3017 to curb the out-of-pocket prescription 
drug costs proposed for TRICARE beneficiaries. The Department of 
Defense has proposed an increase in prescription drug copayments for 
TRICARE beneficiaries. In some cases, copayments could almost double or 
even triple. For example, under the proposal, out-of-pocket costs for a 
brandname drug picked up at a local pharmacy would more than double, 
increasing from $12 to $26. Ensuring the fiscal soundness of TRICARE is 
critical, but we should limit the burden on beneficiaries in our 
efforts to shore up the program.
  This amendment would curb the out-of-pocket prescription drug costs 
proposed for TRICARE beneficiaries. For instance, instead of paying $26 
for a brandname drug, a TRICARE beneficiary would pay $17 at a retail 
pharmacy, a $5 increase from last year as opposed to a $14 increase. 
DOD would be prohibited from instituting dramatic increases in 
prescription drug copayments in future years. Copayments could only 
increase at the rate of the annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA.
  To protect beneficiaries from out-of-pocket increases, the amendment 
proposes to achieve the necessary savings by requiring the Secretary to 
enroll beneficiaries age 65 and older with maintenance medication--that 
is, medications for chronic conditions--in a 5-year mail order pharmacy 
pilot program. Beneficiaries would be eligible to opt out of the mail 
order program after 1 year if they felt it did not adequately meet 
their needs.
  To ensure TRICARE beneficiaries have access to their prescription 
medications, they would be able to secure an initial 30-day fill at a 
local retail pharmacy. And the amendment ensures that they will not be 
denied a maintenance medication at a retail pharmacy if they ever find 
themselves running low and in need of a quick refill.
  The amendment would expressly prohibit the Secretary from including 
medications for acute care needs in the mail order pilot program, as 
well as

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medications dispensed to residents of long-term care facilities. The 
Secretary would also have the discretion to exempt other medications 
and other populations.
  This amendment is supported by the Military Coalition, a group of 30 
organizations representing more than 5.5 million members of the uniform 
services--active, Reserve, retired, survivors, veterans--and their 
families.
  My third amendment, No. 3165, which is identical to the Housing 
Assistance for Veterans Act that I recently introduced, would create a 
new pilot program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
that would provide home rehabilitation and modification for veterans 
who are low income or disabled and who own their homes or are living in 
the owner-occupied home of a family member.
  This amendment fills a crucial gap because it would serve all 
veterans with disabilities, regardless of the severity of the 
disability and whether the disability is service connected or not.
  With this amendment, eligible veterans would have the opportunity to 
renovate and modify their existing homes by installing wheelchair 
ramps, widening doors, re-equipping rooms, and making necessary 
additions and adjustments to existing structures--all so these homes 
are more suitable and safer for our veterans.
  I hope we can work together to consider these amendments, and other 
amendments that have been proposed by my colleagues.
  As for the underlying bill, I wish to point out a few more of its 
highlights.
  The bill authorizes a 1.7-percent across-the-board pay raise and 
reauthorizes over 30 types of bonuses and special payments for our men 
and women in uniform.
  It authorizes the Secretary of Defense to carry out a research 
program with community partners to enhance DOD efforts in research, 
treatment, education, and outreach on mental health, substance use 
disorders, and traumatic brain injury in Guard and Reserve members, 
their families, and their caregivers--a provision which I worked on 
with Senator Ayotte to have included in this bill. We have an 
incredible problem with respect to returning veterans, active-duty 
personnel, and their families in addressing their mental health 
challenges, and unless we fully engage all the resources across this 
country, we will not be able to successfully meet the needs of these 
young men and women. We hope this amendment will help in that regard.
  The legislation also extends authorities to continue several ``train 
and equip'' programs to assist foreign militaries in counterterrorism 
and counternarcotics missions. This is one of the emerging and critical 
roles that in the future we must embrace and support.
  Additionally, the legislation authorizes $5.7 billion for the 
Afghanistan Security Forces Fund to build the capacity of the Afghan 
Army and police so those forces can continue to take the security lead 
throughout Afghanistan. Once again, this is a central foundation to our 
plans to withdraw the vast majority of our forces by 2014.
  This year once again I had the honor of serving as the chairman of 
the Seapower Subcommittee, alongside Senator Wicker, my colleague from 
Mississippi, the ranking member. Working together, our subcommittee 
focused on the needs of the Navy, the Marine Corps, and strategic 
mobility forces. We put particular emphasis on supporting marine and 
naval forces engaged in combat operations, improving efficiencies, and 
applying the savings to higher priority programs.
  Specifically, the bill includes the required funding for two 
Virginia-class submarines, provides multiyear procurement authority to 
the Navy to purchase the next block of submarines, authorizes the Navy 
to use incremental funding to buy an additional Virginia-class 
submarine in fiscal year 2014, and provides an additional $777.7 
million in advance procurement for that second boat in 2014.
  The bill also approves the funding for other major programs, 
including the DDG-1000, the Aircraft Carrier Replacement Program, the 
DDG-51 Aegis destroyer program, the Littoral Combat Ship, the Joint 
High Speed Vessel, and the P-8 maritime patrol aircraft.
  I am particularly pleased about the funding for the Virginia-class 
submarines and the DDG-1000, which so many Rhode Islanders helped to 
build.
  We also included language that would permit the Navy to use multiyear 
procurement authority to buy the V-22 Osprey aircraft and the Arleigh 
Burke-class destroyers so we can procure these platforms as efficiently 
as possible.
  I want to offer my particular thanks to Senator Wicker, the other 
members of the Seapower Subcommittee, and our staffs who have done an 
extraordinary job through their diligence, their dedication, and their 
profound commitment to the men and women, particularly, of the Navy and 
the Marine Corps.
  We have a good bill before the Senate. I urge adoption of the 
amendments I have discussed, and I would urge very quickly and very 
timely the passage of the legislation so we can once again send the 
Defense authorization bill to the President for his signature.
  With that, I yield the floor.

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