HCON 83 RFS
SEC. 18. FUNDING FOR GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION
AT CHILDREN’S TEACHING HOSPITALS.
It is the sense of Congress that:
(1) Function 550 of the President’s budget
should include an appropriate level of funding for
graduate medical education conducted at inde-
pendent children’s teaching hospitals in order to en-
sure access to care by millions of children nation-
wide.
(2) An emphasis should be placed on the role
played by community health centers in underserved
rural and urban communities. An increase in fund-
ing for community health centers should not come at
the expense of the Community Access Program.
Both programs should be funded adequately, with
the intention of doubling funding for increased ca-
pacity for community health centers, in addition to
keeping the Community Access Program operational.
(3) The medicare program should emphasize
such preventive medical services as those provided by
vision rehabilitation professionals in saving Govern-
ment funds and preserving the independence of a
growing number of seniors in the coming years.
(4) Funding under function 550 should also re-
flect the importance of the Ryan White CARE Act
to persons afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Funds allocated
HCON 83 RFS
from the CARE Act serve as the safety net for thou-
sands of low-income people living with HIV/AIDS
who reside in metropolitan areas but are ineligible
for entitlement programs. Moreover, the CARE Act
provides critically needed grants directly to existing
community-based clinics and public health providers
to develop and deliver both early and ongoing com-
prehensive services to persons with HIV/AIDS.
SEC. 19. CONCURRENT RETIREMENT AND DISABILITY BEN-
EFITS TO RETIRED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED
FORCES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that the Secretary of
Defense is the appropriate official for evaluating the exist-
ing standards for the provision of concurrent retirement
and disability benefits to retired members of the Armed
Forces and the need to change these standards.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that—
(1) the Secretary of Defense should report to
the congressional committees of jurisdiction on the
provision of concurrent retirement and disability
benefits to retired members of the Armed Forces;
(2) the report should address the number of in-
dividuals retired from the Armed Forces who would
otherwise be eligible for disability compensation, the
HCON 83 RFS
comparability of the policy to Office of Personnel
Management guidelines for civilian Federal retirees,
the applicability of this policy to prevailing private
sector standards, the number of individuals poten-
tially eligible for concurrent benefits who receive
other forms of Federal assistance and the cost of
that assistance, and alternative initiatives that would
accomplish the same end as concurrent receipt of
military retired pay and disability compensation;
(3) the Secretary of Defense should submit leg-
islation that he considers appropriate; and
(4) upon receiving such report, the committees
of jurisdiction, working with the Committees on the
Budget of the House and Senate, should consider
appropriate legislation.
Passed the House of Representatives March 28,
2001.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.
By MARTHA C. MORRISON,
Deputy Clerk.