Political Quotes

“This is the amendment we have been talking about for almost a year now, setting aside some money in the budget to address the health care needs of the Guard and the Reserve. If you are an activated member of the Guard or Reserve, you go into the military health care system called TRICARE. Your family has eligibility for that system. When you come off active duty, you will go back into your private plan, if you have one. If you are uninsured, there will no plan available for you. We are trying to allow Guard and Reserve members, by paying a premium out of their pockets, to be full-time members of TRICARE so they will have continuity of health care. Twenty-five percent of the people who were called to active duty for Guard and Reserve were unable to be deployed because of health care problems. Providing continuity of health care year round would be a good measure. I know this will help retention and recruiting. There is another aspect of this amendment, thanks to Senator Bunning. What is happening with our Guard and Reserve forces is they are becoming overutilized. There has been a 170-percent increase in Guard and Reserve utilization since 9/11.”