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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Men and women with full-time careers who are also |
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reservists in the Texas National Guard or another reserve component |
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of the United States armed forces provide a valuable service to |
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Texas and the nation; and |
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WHEREAS, Also providing a valuable service to Texas and the |
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nation are men and women who have made the reserves of the armed |
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forces of the United States their full-time career; these military |
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technicians provide day-to-day readiness and training in reserve |
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component units and are considered to be federal employees; and |
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WHEREAS, Unfortunately, federal employees who are also |
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reservists or who work full time in a reserve component unit are |
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ineligible for TRICARE Reserve Select, the low-cost health benefits |
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plan offered to all other reserve component service members; |
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instead, these federal employees who are eligible for a federal |
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health benefits plan must use a more expensive health benefits |
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plan; and |
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WHEREAS, The cost difference between enrolling in TRICARE and |
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a federal health benefits plan can be significant in a family |
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budget; in a recent example, a full-time base services manager at an |
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Air National Guard base estimated that she paid $4,700 more of her |
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$57,000 annual salary for a federal health benefits plan than she |
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would for TRICARE; and |
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WHEREAS, To address the different treatment of reserve |
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component service members who are federal employees, Congress is |
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considering H.R. 613/S. 164, the TRICARE Reserve Select |
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Improvement Act, to remove the prohibition on eligibility for |
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TRICARE of members of the reserve components of the armed forces who |
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are eligible to enroll in a federal health benefits plan; and |
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WHEREAS, Enacting the TRICARE Reserve Select Improvement Act |
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would reduce the financial burden on valued members of the Texas |
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National Guard and other reserve components of the United States |
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armed forces; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to enact |
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H.R. 613/S. 164, the TRICARE Reserve Select Improvement Act; and, |
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be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |
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