MILITARY HEALTH: Vets Demand Benefits, More Anthrax News
Roughly 250 retired veterans converged on the Capitol yesterday to demand that Congress fund the lifetime health care they were promised by recruiters. The Pentagon admits that recruiters and military retention officials often promised men who joined that they would receive lifetime medical care, but have argued successfully in court that the pledge "does not constitute a binding contract by the government." Currently, retired military personnel receive health benefits from the defense department's Tricare program, under which veterans must pay for part of their health care costs. At age 65, veterans, like other seniors, are enrolled in Medicare. Rep. Ronnie Shows (D-Miss.) joined the rally; he and Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.) have already gathered support from more than 270 members of Congress for a bill that would allow veterans to enroll in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan, provided they pay the same premiums as retired federal civil service employees. Retired Air Force Major Billy Young said, "[I]t's time we let these people up here understand that we have been relegated to second-class employees of the federal government ... and we're tired of it." Young has filed suit against the government, accusing it of discrimination against retirees by reneging on its promise of lifetime care (Nesmith, Atlanta Journal- Constitution, 5/12).
Anthrax Alternative
In other military news, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is pushing a measure to fund research into possible alternatives for the controversial anthrax vaccine currently administered to military personnel. Specifically, Sessions wants the money to go to researchers at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, who are working on a pill that would stop anthrax spores from becoming deadly organisms and would kill the bacteria after exposure. A three-year, $6.5 million Army grant for the research project has run out, and UAB scientists need about $14 million more to complete the research, including pre-clinical testing and testing on humans required for FDA approval. Sessions said, "We are determined to make sure that the Defense Department promptly examines this drug therapy. If it's feasible, they need to move with great haste to bring it online because it has tremendous potential" (AP/Alabama Live, 5/11).