Thomas Daschle: “today I join with several important leaders of the Senate's National Guard Caucus to introduce S. 1119, which we believe…”

“today I join with several important leaders of the Senate's National Guard Caucus to introduce S. 1119, which we believe will one day result in improved health care for Guard and Reserve members and their families. It is appropriate that we introduce this now, during a week in which Senate floor debate has focused almost exclusively on health care, with several lively discussions about the importance of expanding health coverage to the uninsured. Unfortunately, Guard members and leaders in South Dakota tell me that many of the uninsured serve in the National Guard. Many of them work for small businesses that cannot afford to offer health insurance to their employees. Some of them have insurance for themselves, but cannot afford to insure their dependents. Meanwhile, this Nation is utilizing the Guard more heavily than at any other time in our Nation's history. During the Cold War, a Guard member might serve and retire without ever being called to active duty. Staring with the Persian Gulf War and continuing to this day in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq, reservists are serving alongside the active duty military during deployments that can last 6 months or more. Each of these deployments strains the Guard member's employer, who temporarily gives up a valued employee. And it strains individual soldiers and their families, even if they have health insurance, because employer-provided coverage often lapses during periods of active duty.”