Robin Carnahan: “Mr, President, last week I spoke of a group of Americans who will be on the front lines of the new war on terrorism…”

“Mr, President, last week I spoke of a group of Americans who will be on the front lines of the new war on terrorism-- reservists and national guard members. President Bush has authorized the call-up of 50,000 of these citizen soldiers. Together with a bipartisan group of Senators, I offered legislation that I believe would greatly support these brave men and women, and their families. This amendment would allow those called to active duty and their families to have access to uninterrupted health care coverage. My amendment is based on legislation I introduced with Senator DeWine earlier this year. It would allow reservists returning from deployments, to extend their TRICARE coverage for close to six months or until their civilian health insurers returned their coverage to them. Today, I have expanded the scope of this legislation to cover not only reserve components, but two other categories of military personnel who will require help transitioning to civilian life once their active duty service has ended.”