Tom Daschle

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I will use my leader time, but I thank the Senator from Alabama for his kindness. Let me thank and congratulate all Members who have had so much to do with offering this amendment--Senator Graham of South Carolina, Senator DeWine, Senator Leahy, and so many others who have made this effort over the course of the last several months. The distinguished Senator from Alabama said we need to think this through. This has been the subject of a great deal of study. The GAO has studied it; various economic analyses have been done on it. There are three numbers I call to my colleagues' attention. The first is 700. There has been a 700 percent increase in the utilization of Guard and Reserve in active-duty and law enforcement roles since September 11--700 percent. The dislocation caused by that new role has been remarkable in all of our States. We are asking them to be law enforcement officers. We are asking them to be soldiers. We are asking them to fight in wars. We are asking them to play a role they did not play before. The second number I ask my colleagues to remember is one-tenth of 1 percent. That is what the cost of this amendment would be, one-tenth of 1 percent of the Defense Department budget. We can afford one-tenth of 1 percent to say to all of those Guard and Reserve personnel: You are playing a role; you have never played a role before by seven times. Now we are going to give them the chance just to purchase health insurance. That is all they are going to do, purchase TRICARE insurance. We are not going to give it to them, but we will let them purchase it. The final number is this: 30; there is a 30 percent uninsured roster right now among the National Guardsmen who are under 30. Thirty is an important threshold. We have a vast number of people we have called upon to serve their country in war and in peace, in roles involving National Guard, as well as in the military. All we are saying through this amendment is: You have a chance to buy health insurance, so you can do it better. And when you do it, you are going to be healthy. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. DASCHLE. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. As I noted in my opening comments, the cost implications are very minimal given the extraordinary opportunities it presents for all of our Guard and Reserve personnel. The estimated cost for the first year is $300 million--.7 of a percent of the entire defense budget.

Mr. DASCHLE. I have an amendment at the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, this amendment would strengthen our National Guard, our Reserve force, and our Nation by offering these troops the option to receive year-round health coverage through TRICARE, the military health program. If approved, this would be the first fundamental change in Guard and Reserve benefits since the end of the Cold War. This amendment not only honors the sacrifices that our Guard and Reserve troops have been making on our behalf for decades, but also recognizes that there has been a fundamental expansion in recent years in their roles and missions. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the military has increasingly relied on the skill and sacrifice of America's Reservists. When I go home to South Dakota and talk to the citizens of my State, I see and hear first-hand the impact this increasing reliance has on communities all across my State. Nearly 2,000 South Dakotan Guard and Reservists are currently on active duty serving their Nation. In addition to performing their traditional combat roles, Guard and Reserve personnel have assumed a larger share of the peacekeeping role in hot spots all around the world. Since September 11, Guard and Reserve members have assisted in homeland security, including protecting our airports, and have provided force protection at bases at home and abroad. According to a recent GAO study, Guard and Reservist mobilizations increased by 700 percent in the aftermath of the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. So more frequently and for longer periods of time, Guard and Reserve personnel from South Dakota and all over the Nation have answered their Nation's call to duty, leaving behind their families, their jobs, and their communities. While the demands we place on Reservists have grown markedly, the Federal Government's commitment to this dedicated group of men and women has not kept pace. As a result, leaders of the National Guard and Reserves are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain top-notch individuals. Guard leaders tell me that offering health coverage would be the single most powerful tool we could give them to help with recruiting and retention. This proposal offers a moderate, targeted, affordable proposal that deserves the bipartisan support of the Senate. This amendment is the result of 2 years of work by myself and a bipartisan group of my colleagues from the Senate Guard Caucus. In 2001, we introduced S. 1119, calling for research into problems surrounding health coverage for the Guard and Reserve. For 2 years, we have been holding regular meetings with leaders from the guard and reserve community and soliciting grassroots input. We have made some modifications to reflect the experiences of reservists mobilized after September 11 and problems encountered by others mobilized for service in Bosnia and Iraq. Last fall, we received a helpful study on the issue from the General Accounting Office. Incorporating the lessons from that report, last month we were able to introduce S. 852, the National Guard and Reserve Comprehensive Health Benefits Act of 2003, on which this amendment is based. This amendment offers Reserve and National Guard members and their families the opportunity to participate in the same TRICARE program available to active duty service members and their families. Reservists and their families will share the cost of premium payments with the Department of Defense, with the same cost distribution as used in the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan. The National Guard Association of the United States reports that the average cost of a family health care plan through a civilian HMO is $7,541 per year. In contrast, the Guard Association estimates that the TRICARE cost per family is only $5,173 per year, even without government sharing any of the cost. With government cost-sharing, this will be an attractively priced option for securing health coverage. Beyond recruitment and retention, this program will improve readiness. More than 20 percent of the Ready Reserve--and as much as 40 percent of young enlisted personnel--do not currently have health insurance. Providing access to quality health care during all phases of service can drastically reduce the chances that a unit is unable to deploy due to medical reasons. Maintaining a healthy force is absolutely essential to maintaining a prepared force. Our legislation will also address another problem that invariably occurs during mobilization. When a reservist is called to active duty, he or she must leave their private-sector health plan and enter a wholly new plan, TRICARE. In March, I worked with the Secretary of Defense to end a nationwide problem among families of mobilized reservists. Simply put, they were being forced, unfairly and improperly, to join a more expensive TRICARE plan. We did solve that problem, but many families spent weeks without knowing whether they should try to extend their private coverage or whether they could afford TRICARE. That is simply unacceptable. At a time when a reservist is preparing for deployment to a war zone, the last thing he or she should have to worry about is health benefits. This amendment is an affordable way to honor the commitment of our guard and reserve members. The bill before us provides the Defense Department with more than $400 billion in FY2004. According to the Congressional Budget Office, my amendment costs about $300 million in that same period. For .7 months of a percent of the Pentagon budget, we can guarantee that all reservists have access to health care--either through civilian employers or TRICARE. We can ensure that this force is ready to fight at a moment's notice. We can improve the readiness of the current reserve force and improve our ability to recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women for the National Guard and Reserves. The high rate of reservist mobilizations will most likely continue. Indeed, with ongoing needs in Iraq and the upsurge in homeland defense activities, reservists will probably continue to be mobilized at record levels. By providing access to quality, affordable health care for reservists and their families, this legislation will ensure that when we need them, they will be there, healthy and ready to go. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, if I could respond briefly, first of all, I compliment the distinguished chair and ranking member for their work, once again, in producing a bill that passed out of committee, as I understand it, unanimously. That is a real tribute to their leadership and to the willingness that they continue to demonstrate to work in such a bipartisan and constructive manner in committee. That is laudable. I congratulate the chair and ranking member for their ability to do it consistently--not just on this occasion. First, I recognize, as the distinguished chair has noted, we have to be appreciative of our active-duty personnel. They make a commitment second to none. We saw yet again a demonstration of that commitment in the battle in Iraq. I don't know that an issue has been studied as much as this issue over the course of the last couple of years. I am happy to share the findings of many of the studies that have been done. One study that attracted me in particular was a study done by the General Accounting Office. I ask unanimous consent the summary of the study be printed in the Record.

Mr. DASCHLE. The GAO noted since the attack on the World Trade Center--

Mr. DASCHLE. The date was September of 2002, just in the last 6 months. The GAO study noted that since the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, utilization, mobilization of the Guard and Reserve has gone up 700 percent. We are not only seeing an increase in integration with Active-Duty Forces, but we are seeing a remarkable, continued mobilization of the Guard and Reserve for other roles having to do with the war on terror. As these continued mobilizations arise, the disruption, the extraordinary pressures and demands put on the Guard and Reserve almost require that we look upon them as active-duty personnel because they play far more an active-duty role. As I talk to the Guard and Reserve and the recruiters, it it has become increasingly clear that is one reason recruitment and retention has become much more of a challenge. We have done very well in South Dakota. We are at 106 percent, but that is not without a great deal of effort. We cannot say that nationally. The fundamental question is, Do we owe them the right--not for additional compensation, no to be treated like Regulars--the right to buy health insurance so they have the coverage for their families and themselves both in war and in peace. Why is it appropriate to buy coverage for war but not appropriate to buy coverage for peace when they are purchasing it themselves? I don't know that it takes more study. I don't know that it takes any more analysis. You see the mobilization. You see the need. You see what I consider to be the disparity that exists today and what I would consider to be a certain extent an unfairness. I don't know that one has to go beyond that. So I hope the distinguished chairman, the manager of the bill, might reconsider prior to the time we vote. But I will respect his point of view regardless of what ultimately he decides.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I would say, if I recall what the report says, it is 80 percent or 90 percent of the Guard and Reserve who have coverage at some time during the year. We have as high as 30 percent of our recruits in the National Guard in South Dakota who do not have health insurance because younger people, younger personnel, oftentimes are not in a position to buy it. It is younger personnel who are currently the subject of recruitment and retention. There is a great need out there. As I say, there are a large number, there is a significant percentage who are vastly underinsured, if you read further in the report. I urge my colleague to take a good look at the report before he comes to any conclusions about the need.

Mr. DASCHLE. If I could add one other--I apologize to the Senator from Vermont--I will just read from page 8 of the report. Officers and enlisted personnel are more likely than junior personnel to have coverage. Only 60 percent of junior enlisted personnel, about 90 percent of whom are under age 35, had coverage. That means 40 percent of the junior personnel had no coverage at all. Of reservists and dependents, about 86 percent reported having coverage, but of reservists without dependents, only 63 percent reported having coverage. Again, about 40 percent have no coverage whatsoever. Again, this becomes a recruiting, a retention, and, I believe, a fairness question that I hope this Senate will address this year with this bill.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I want to thank the majority leader for bringing this important piece of legislation to the Senate floor. It is desperately needed. The Senate passed something very similar to this proposal 9 months ago. Despite our urgent and repeated requests, Republican leaders in the House refused to act on that bill. But something important happened between then and now. In his State of the Union Address to the Nation, President Bush proposed an historic U.S. commitment to the global AIDS fight. We applaud the President's support. I also want to acknowledge Secretary of State Colin Powell, who has shown great leadership on this issue of global AIDS and taken some criticism for it. Our colleagues in the House of Representatives, especially Congressmen Henry Hyde and Tom Lantos, also deserve thanks for their commitment to this cause. Here in the Senate, many of us have seen the face of AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean personally. This fight has benefitted from their leadership. I especially want to acknowledge the work of Senators Durbin, Kerry, Biden, Leahy, Feingold, Kennedy, Frist, Lugar, and DeWine. Last August, I traveled with several of our colleagues to South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, and Nigeria. We wanted to get a clear look at the development challenges in Africa. The challenges are myriad and massive. They include investment and trade, education and agriculture. One of Africa's greatest challenges is health care--particularly AIDS. In South Africa, I had the privilege to deliver 1,000 pounds of clothes and toys, donated by the people of South Dakota to children in South Africa affected by HIV/AIDS. Those toys provided some glimmer of hope to the South African children who received them. But this bill offers the beginning of real hope. This bill holds out the promise that some of those children will grow to be adults and perhaps have children on their own. On that trip, I met a young girl named Mary. She lives in Soweto. She had recently lost both of her parents to AIDS. She had been left to care for her four younger siblings. She was 12 years old. Mary and her siblings are among the world's more than 14 million ``AIDS orphans''-- children who have lost their mother, or both parents, to AIDS. Worldwide, more than 30 million people have already died from AIDS. Last year, AIDS and AIDS-related illnesses claimed the lives of 3.1 million people. And 5 million more people became newly infected. Today, more than 42 million people are infected with HIV or living with AIDS. More than 75 percent of them live in Africa or the Caribbean. I am convinced that, if we combine America's resources and technology and the great compassion of the American people with the courage and hope shown by Mary and so many others, we will defeat this disease. HIV/AIDS is the great humanitarian crisis of our time. But it is more than a humanitarian crisis. AIDS is a national security issue. It is a public health issue. It is an economic issue. And it is a moral issue. We have the tools to fight this disease. It is our duty and our obligation to use them. The U.S. commitment to the global AIDS fight has increased significantly in the last few years. But we could have, and should have, done far more, far sooner. We must not delay any more. This bill is another step in our fight. It would more than double current U.S. spending for international AIDS programs. It calls for a comprehensive strategy that integrates prevention, treatment, research for a vaccine and help support children--like Mary, orphaned by the disease. The President is right in calling for us to target nations in Sub- Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. These nations represent the epicenter of the global AIDS crisis. But a crisis is looming in Asia and Central and Eastern Europe. We must do now in those areas what we did not do soon enough in Africa. We must intervene now to stop the spread of HIV/ AIDS before it reaches the epic proportions experts warn we could see. For that reason, Democrats will offer an amendment to this bill to guarantee a robust American commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The bilateral efforts aimed at Africa and the Caribbean are needed to address today's crisis. A strong U.S. commitment to the Global AIDS Fund is needed to prevent tomorrow's crisis. We will also offer an amendment to give the President the flexibility he needs to confront this epidemic. The House bill ties the President's hands on prevention programs. Abstinence must be a central piece of any successful prevention program. But earmarking 33 percent of prevention funds for one approach is counter-productive. We will also offer other important amendments. One will relieve the debt burden on the world's poorest nations--many of whom are burdened also by this AIDS crisis. Another will provide American food aid to people suffering from AIDS in desperately poor nations. We know that many people who suffer from AIDS actually die from starvation and malnutrition. Emergency food aid from America's farmers can help keep them alive. It is important to note, however, that this is just an authorization bill. By itself, it does not commit one dime to prevent AIDS or help its victims. The real test of our commitment to children like Mary and others living with and threatened by AIDS will be whether we fund this promise. A prescription you can't afford to fill does no good at all. The President calls his proposal an ``emergency plan.'' He is right. This is an emergency. We should treat it like an emergency. After we pass this bill, we must appropriate the full amount it prescribes. We can react to the plight of AIDS orphans like Mary with denial and despair. Or we can respond--as this proposal does--with a determination to save those children and the millions of others threatened by HIV/ AIDS. In Uganda, mothers with AIDS create ``memory books'' for their children. In their dying days, they gather together photos and stories they want their children to know. They know that they will not live to see their children grow up. With this bill, we have a chance to write a different book--a different kind of history in this fight against AIDS. Let us write that book. Let us pass this bill today. Then, let us quickly agree to commit the resources it promises. I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendments be set aside.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, in this debate about creating jobs, we have a clear choice. The Republican bill, according to virtually all economic analyses, doesn't create jobs until the year 2004. What few jobs it does create this year are vastly outdone by the bill we have before us now. This bill creates 1 million jobs this year. If this bill is about fiscal responsibility, we have a choice. The Republican bill will use $422 billion of Social Security trust funds. Our legislation has been scored at $152 billion. There is a dramatic difference between this bill and our bill when it comes to fiscal responsibility. We are talking about providing meaningful help to the vast majority of American taxpayers who need help now, who can be spurred with economic incentive. This bill does it by providing a wage credit of $300 per person. A family of four would be entitled to $1,600 when the child tax credit and marriage penalty provisions are added. There is a clear choice. This bill is fiscally responsible. This bill provides the kind of broad-based relief we want. This bill provides the kind of jobs this country so badly needs.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, pursuant to section 904 of the Congressional Budget Act, I move to waive the applicable sections of that act and budget resolution for consideration of the pending amendment and ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we have been discussing this matter for the last hour or so. We understand there are no more amendments to be offered on the tax bill, so we are prepared now to go to the managers' amendment. In order to make the most efficient use of the time, we felt it might be helpful to go to the first amendment. In fact, there will be additional amendments on that. We wanted to finish the bill tonight. This is in keeping with our discussions. I would hope we could go ahead and offer the first amendment.

Mr. DASCHLE. I am happy to yield.

Mr. DASCHLE. I thank the Senator from Delaware. I yield the floor.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the request be amended to accommodate the colloquy offered by the Senator from New Jersey or an amendment.

Mr. DASCHLE

Mr. DASCHLE. I suggest we get on with these amendments. The sooner we do so, the sooner we will finish.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, the majority leader and I have been discussing how we will continue. I know of no one who has asked for a rollcall vote on final passage. It would be our hope that we could voice vote final passage. I also encourage my colleagues, to the degree possible, to accept voice votes on these amendments as well. The hour is late, and each vote takes at least 10 minutes. There will be a voice vote on final, assuming everyone has agreed. To the extent possible, I encourage voice votes on amendments as well.

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we have two other amendments that require rollcalls. Very short time limits will be used to present the amendments is my understanding. We have no other requests for rollcalls. Other Senators will be offering amendments requiring voice votes. I think at that point Senators will be free to leave. I ask that the Boxer amendment be the next in order.