National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership in this very important endeavor.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of this amendment package, which includes my amendment that clarifies that the pilot program for prescription drug acquisition costs regarding TRICARE pharmacy benefits will also include small business pharmacies.

Currently, the pilot program helps extend discounts to TRICARE beneficiaries for prescription drugs filled at retail pharmacies. My amendment simply clarifies that small business pharmacies are retail pharmacies and will be included in this pilot program.

In many cases around the country, people are unlimited when it comes to which pharmacy they can have their preparations filled at. With this amendment, we can ensure all pharmacies, both large and small retailers, will be included in this pilot program.

I encourage all my colleagues to support this amendment package.

Mr MOULTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

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Mr. CARTER of Georgia. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of this amendment package, which includes my amendment that ensures the safety of Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay.

Home to the Atlantic ballistic missile submarine fleet, Kings Bay's contributions to national security and to the nuclear deterrence capabilities of the U.S. fleet cannot be overstated.

Just south of the installation is a low-use general aviation airport called St. Mary's Airport. The flight lines for their airport take civilian aircraft right over the base, raising a number of security concerns for the installation and for the weapons packages stored there.

The dangers this poses to our nuclear stockpile is glaring, and this amendment is the first step in remedying that situation. This amendment would allow for the relocation of the St. Mary's Airport service due to national security concerns posed to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay.

This amendment has been a major priority for the Navy, and provides much-needed changes to security concerns that have been persistent for a number of years.

With this amendment, we can protect our nuclear submarines while providing new economic opportunities.

I encourage all of my colleagues to support this amendment.

MR. MOULTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Ruiz).

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