Senate Bill 2606

    Florida Senate - 1999        (NP)  (corrected copy)    SR 2606

    By Senator Clary





    7-1780-99

  1                    Senate Resolution No.     

  2         A resolution recognizing America's military

  3         retirees who served in World War II and the

  4         Korean War and recognizing the government's

  5         responsibilities with respect to the lifetime

  6         healthcare needs of these retirees.

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  8         WHEREAS, World War II and Korean War military retirees

  9  who served honorably for 20 or more years constitute a

10  significant part of the aging population in the United States

11  as a whole and in Florida in particular, and

12         WHEREAS, guaranteed lifetime health care for themselves

13  and their families was a major inducement for these retirees

14  to make the United States Armed Forces a career, and

15         WHEREAS, many of these retirees do not have access to

16  military treatment facilities for health care and

17  life-maintenance medications because they live in areas where

18  there are no military treatment facilities or where such

19  facilities have downsized so significantly that available

20  space for care has become nonexistent, and

21         WHEREAS, before reaching the age of 65, these retirees

22  are provided health services at Military Medical Facilities or

23  through the United States Department of Defense's TRICARE

24  programs, but when these retirees reach the age of 65, they

25  lose a significant portion of the guaranteed health care by

26  being forced into Medicare, and

27         WHEREAS, the loss of access to health care provided by

28  the Department of Defense has resulted in the government's

29  breaking its guarantee of lifetime health care, and

30         WHEREAS, without continued affordable health care,

31  including medication, these retirees have limited access to

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999        (NP)  (corrected copy)    SR 2606
    7-1780-99




  1  quality health care, and have significantly less care than

  2  other retired federal employees, such as the Federal Employees

  3  Health Benefits Program, and

  4         WHEREAS, one thousand of the men and women who

  5  faithfully served their country are dying each day with the

  6  knowledge that their Federal Government will not honor the

  7  guarantee of medical care, and

  8         WHEREAS, it is necessary to restore equitable

  9  healthcare benefits to such military retirees comparable to

10  the benefits of other retired federal workers, NOW, THEREFORE,

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12  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

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14         That the Florida Senate recognizes the weekend of June

15  5 and June 6, 1999, as World War II and Korean War Remembrance

16  Weekend so that the people of Florida may acknowledge the

17  sacrifices made by the military retirees who served in those

18  wars and defended the freedom enjoyed by the people of Florida

19  and all Americans.

20         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Senate

21  recognizes the government's responsibilities with respect to

22  the lifetime healthcare needs of these retirees.

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