Trent Lott: “I rise in support this morning of S. 2087, the Military Health Care Improvement Act of 2000. This is bipartisan…”

“I rise in support this morning of S. 2087, the Military Health Care Improvement Act of 2000. This is bipartisan legislation. It will begin to fulfill a promise of lifetime health care for our military men and women who sacrifice so much for our freedom. This bill begins a multiyear process to identify and correct the broken promise of lifetime health care to our military retirees and veterans. I want to emphasize that this is a reasonable and a prudent first step. It is not the end by any means. It is only the beginning of an effort to rejuvenate our defense health care system. I met an hour or so ago with the Commandant of the Marine Corps. He confirmed that this is an important part of the triad of things that we must do to reinstate the morale and recruitment and retention that we need for our military. Last year, with S. 4, we addressed two components of that triad: Pay and pension benefits. But this year defense health care is critical. The chiefs have stepped up to this issue and included in the budget what was submitted by the President significant improvements, particularly for health care for our active-duty personnel. But more needs to be done, both for the active-duty personnel, but especially for our retired military personnel.”