Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy
On Increasing Health Benefits
For Members Of The National Guard And Reserves
September 10, 2003

As co-chair of the 85-member U.S. Senate National Guard Caucus, it is my pleasure to stand here with Senators DeWine, Daschle, and Graham to announce this effort to guarantee members of the Guard and Reserve health insurance.

The President has addressed the nation and soon will ask Congress for tens of billions more to finish the job in Iraq. 

Our Guard and Reserves are integral components of the military force that we will be counting on to help us finish that job.

Yesterday General Myers summarized the importance of the Guard well, when he noted that the nation simply cannot go to war or carry out the extended nation-building needed to stabilize Iraq and Afghanistan without the reserves.  For example, more than 100 members of the Vermont National Guard are currently deployed in Afghanistan, helping to train members of the new Afghan National Army.

Since 9-11, the nation has asked the members of our Guard and Reserves, and their families, and their employers, to make sacrifices that are unprecedented in modern times.  Now, their deployment terms are being further extended.  The amount of time they will actually be deployed could be as much as 18 months when pre-departure training is factored in.

In the interest of fairness to them and their families, and in the interest of preparedness, solving their problems of access to health insurance is something that simply must be done.   

We are counting heavily on our Guard and Reserves, and we must guarantee them basic health insurance benefits.  We must ensure every member of the reserves is healthy and that the entire force is ready.

The Guard and the Reserves are part of the backbone of our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It would be inexcusable to put this off by punting a solution farther down the field.

Our proposal is a version of S. 852, the Comprehensive Guard and Reserve Health Insurance Bill.  This legislation will make the military’s TRICARE insurance program available to members of the Guard and Reserve -- and their families -- on a cost-share basis.

The Senate already voted 85 to 10 include this legislation on the Senate’s version of the Defense Authorization Bill, which is currently under negotiation by the Conference Committee.  Now we urge the Senate to again come behind this legislation when the supplemental appropriations bill comes before us.

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Related Links:

Click here to visit Senator Leahy's National Guard Healthcare Homepage