Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 51 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this concurrent resolution is to request the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation to support the federal legislation to restore health care coverage to eligible retired members of the uniformed services, the "Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act."

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Office of Veterans Services of the state Department of Defense.

Your Committee finds that generations of young men and women were recruited into the armed forces with the promise that they and their dependents would receive health care benefits upon their retirement from a military career. Unfortunately, the federal government did not fulfill the recruitment promise to provide lifetime health benefits to twenty-year military retirees. In 1956, Congress limited the level of health care for retirees. Subsequent laws removed retirees from the military health care system as they became eligible for Medicare, resulting in reduced health care benefits. In addition, the closing of military bases in recent years has resulted in closed military medical and dental facilities, further cutting off health care access for many retirees.

The Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act, currently pending in both chambers of Congress, was originally introduced to acknowledge the promises made in good faith to America's military retirees. Its passage is critical to providing the promised health care benefits to military retirees and their dependents. Your Committee believes that Congress has a moral obligation to make good on the recruitment promises that were made to America's career military retirees.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 51 and recommends its adoption.