Gene Taylor: “a few minutes ago the gentleman from California (Chairman Hunter), in speaking to the Woolsey amendment, described it as…”

“a few minutes ago the gentleman from California (Chairman Hunter), in speaking to the Woolsey amendment, described it as a message-sender. This motion to recommit, which is an amendment to the bill, is a message-sender. This is a message-sender to the Guardsmen and Reservists of this Nation who comprise 38 percent of the total force, and who at this moment comprise 40 percent of the men and women who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. By the way, they provide about that same percentage of the wounded, about the same percentage of the people who come home dead from that war. See, unlike the regular soldier to their right and the regular Marine to their left, who are guaranteed health care coverage through the TRICARE program, 20 percent of our Guardsmen and Reservists have no health care coverage whatsoever. Coincidentally, about 20 percent of our Guard and Reservists who are called up could not be deployed because they were not medically ready to be deployed. This amendment addresses that. This amendment would take $185 million out of the fund that is going to fund base closure and apply it to TRICARE for Guard and Reservists to let those people know we appreciate them. {time} 2000 Why is this important? Just today in south Mississippi, five families got the worst message you could ever receive, and that is that their loved one died in Iraq. Every one of them was a Guardsman or Reservist.…”