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gentlewoman from texas Miss escobar is 

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recognized for five minutes . Thank you 

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Madam Chair for convening this hearing . 

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And I want to thank all of our 

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witnesses for coming uh two for 

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attending this hearing . Both virtually 

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and in person for sharing such 

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incredible and powerful stories for 

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your bravery , for your advocacy for 

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your selflessness . Uh Doctor uh moya 

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yeti . So good to see you again . Thank 

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you for your work in in our state . You 

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know , right after I want to share just 

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very briefly , before I I ask my 

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questions , I have the incredible 

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privilege of representing Fort Bliss . 

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I represent el paso texas and Fort 

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Bliss is a critical um component of our 

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community as well as a critical 

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military installation . Um The day 

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after the Supreme Court draft was 

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leaked , my office received a number of 

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calls from female service members 

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stationed at Fort Bliss who were 

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concerned and wanted to know what would 

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happen to them if they were to need 

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abortion care while they were in the 

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state of texas , while they were in the 

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community of el paso while they were 

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stationed at Fort Bliss . And there is 

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so much uncertainty for women around 

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all of this and there are consequences 

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to these decisions , real life 

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consequences that are that are 

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potentially deadly for women . You know , 

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we we we heard about the ectopic 

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pregnancy situation and the impact it 

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has on women and families and the 

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limitations to health care for them , 

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but there are also direct economic 

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impacts for women . Um both major Arana 

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and major Mazzello shared the impact to 

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their future that lack of access to 

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abortion care would create . And I want 

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to ask both of you Major arana , Major 

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Mazzello ever since the overturning of 

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weight , ever since the Supreme Court 

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decision . Um Starting with you Major 

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Ariana , what have you heard from 

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fellow service members from women ? 

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Maybe even men who care about this 

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issue who care about women and their 

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future and the future of the military . 

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Have you heard anything from your 

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colleagues ? Thank you ma'am for the 

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question . Yes . We um I've had friends 

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reach out and say that you know they're 

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worried one about their base stations 

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and what is it that's going to happen 

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when they get there . Um but I think 

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really overall it's a feeling of 

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understanding that state laws are 

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quickly becoming more restrictive than 

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our D . O . D . Regulations . And so 

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what is that going to mean for the rest 

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of us are at large . We talk about 

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county laws and what these bounty laws , 

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the effect that that's going to have on 

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our service . Um when we speak about 

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readiness , you know these these bounty 

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laws , the D . O . D . Is a unique 

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employer and that so much of our 

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information is not afforded the same 

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privacy as it is in the civilian sector . 

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And so if we go to states for example 

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like texas with these bounty laws where 

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service members can sue themselves can 

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sue one another . Um it kind of sets us 

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up for this situation that's similar to 

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like don't ask , don't tell you know 

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where there was harassment . Um , but I 

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think overall it degrades morale . It 

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affects retention , definitely . Um , 

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and I just think that it is not , it 

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doesn't create the environment that we 

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are told we are supposed to uphold for 

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supporting our service members . Thank 

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you . Thank you . Major out on a major 

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Mozilla . What are your , have you 

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heard anything from your colleagues 

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from fellow service members ? 

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Absolutely . And it's just not the 

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personal concerns that we all have both 

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male and female . The Dobbs decision 

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makes us all scared for the future of 

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the military . The future of the 

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military that I've served in for the 

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last 20 years . I'm worried that these 

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barriers to accessing reproductive care 

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are gonna discourage new recruits from 

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joining the military . I'm also worried 

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that current members would leave the 

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military depending on what duty station 

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they are because that would mean that 

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they're going to risk their access to 

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reproductive care . Um , and I say , 

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you know , it affects the whole family . 

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Um , and it affects all of us male and 

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female and it affects the military at 

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large . Thank you . Thank you so much . 

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And I think that is something so 

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critical for us to understand is the 

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impact on readiness . The impact on the 

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military , the impact on recruitment 

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and retention . Um , we want the best 

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we want , um , to have a military 

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that's ready . That's lethal . That's 

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focused on what it needs to be focused 

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on . Um , and , and the situation right 

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now for women does not create those 

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conditions . Thank you Madam Chair . A 

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year back . The gentlewoman yields back . 

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The gentlewoman from California , MS 

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Jacobs is recognized for five minutes . 

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Well , thank you Madam Chair for 

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hosting this incredibly important 

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hearing and thank you to our witnesses 

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um , for sharing your stories , you 

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know , as a young woman myself , um , 

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reproductive healthcare is also my 

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health care and I'm sorry that you have 

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to share the very personal details 

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about your health care in order to make 

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a change . And I thank you for doing 

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that . And I also think it's important 

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that we share our stories because we 

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need to de stigmatize these issues . 

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This is just health care , like all 

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other kinds of health care . So I'm 

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very proud to represent san Diego , 

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which is a big military community and 

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luckily being in California , my 

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constituents can still get the health 

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care that they need . Um , but you know , 

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they have to transfer between bases as 

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we've already discussed And we have a 

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lot of young people from San Diego who 

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joined the military as a result . Um , 

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and I have to talk to their parents and 

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their loved ones . Uh , and they're 

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asking me constantly if I'm doing 

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everything I can to keep them safe . 

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And they don't just mean when they're 

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deployed overseas . Um , so I wanted to 

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ask , um , Mr Rana Mismo Zillow , if 

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you were talking to a young woman right 

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now who is 16 or 17 years old and they 

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were asking you if they should join the 

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military right now , if it was a good 

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choice for them , what would you advise 

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them ? 

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Thank you for the question . Um I've 

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never regretted my choice of enlisting 

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or commissioning . I mean I said 2.5 

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decades in and it's always been the 

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exact right decision , you know , for 

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me . So I would never discourage anyone 

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from joining the military . I will say 

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that I am sitting here and major 

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Mazzello and my colleagues , we're all 

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here because we believe that we can be 

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better and do better . And one of the 

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ways that we be we make better 

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decisions or better policies is 

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bypassing focusing on inclusive policy . 

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I think right now what we're working 

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towards is policies that purposefully 

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create barriers and enforced barriers 

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that are already existing and I think 

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rather we should be looking towards 

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policies that identify barriers to 

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access and tear those down and that 

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includes access to abortion . I would 

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never discourage anyone from joining 

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the military . This has been an amazing 

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opportunity for me and my family and 

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again , I believe in what this nation 

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stands for , which is why I wear my 

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uniform with pride . Thank you Miss 

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Mozilla . What would you advise a young 

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woman today ? I also don't regret my 

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military service . Um but I'm here 

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today to share my personal and private 

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story because I care about service 

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women and the future . Service women 

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and young women . I want to make sure 

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that they don't experience difficult 

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challenges and that they have the same 

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opportunities that I did and I want to 

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make sure they have access to abortion 

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care because it's so essential to their 

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well being . Thank you . Thank you . Um 

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I wanted to follow up on on something 

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Mr rana you talked about earlier , 

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which is that there's not enough O . B . 

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G . Y . N . S . In military facilities . 

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So um dr LeMay I wanted to ask you in 

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your opinion , does the department have 

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enough trained gynecologist to meet 

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this moment ? What steps could we do to 

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further prioritize on base O . B . G . 

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Y . N . Care and potentially on base uh 

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access for abortions that currently 

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would be allowed under law . 

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Thank you for that question . Um I 

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cannot speak to policies of the D . O . 

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D . And staffing issues within the D . 

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O . D . Um but I do know that we do not 

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currently have the staffing to on base 

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see every patient of reproductive age 

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whether they're active duty or 

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dependence . So we do rely on our 

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local community to help care for those 

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patients and much of the O . B . G . Y . 

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N . Care in many locations throughout 

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the country does need to be deferred to 

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the network . Um So we are reliant on 

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that state and the care that can be 

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provided in that state . Um and that is 

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the reality of the staffing that we 

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have um at many locations right now . 

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Thank you . Dr Maya . Do you have 

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anything to add on that from your 

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experiences ? I do , having worked as a 

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civilian um near Fort Bliss and also in 

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Hawaii providing O . B . G . Y . N . 

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Care . I routinely received transfers 

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from military installations in both 

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areas . So I know personally from the 

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transfers that I have received that 

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high risk obstetric care often cannot 

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be cared for on base . Very preterm 

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deliveries cannot be cared for on base . 

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And so many times civilian hospitals 

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are the place where people with 

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complications are sent to for care 

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because they don't , there aren't 

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enough beds , there isn't enough 

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staffing . So that is definitely a 

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concern that this is not just about 

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military installations and the health 

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care that they provide , but also about 

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the surrounding health care 

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infrastructure that supports the 

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military within our communities . Well , 

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thank you . And can I just say for many 

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years , my O . B . G . Y . N . Was the 

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only doctor that I went too much like 

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many young women and the fact that we 

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can't see every person of reproductive 

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age who should be able to access that 

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care in our military treatment 

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facilities is really problematic and 

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something I hope our committee focuses 

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on Madam terry back Gentleman yields 

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back . The gentleman from California . 

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Mr Garamendi is recognized for five 

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minutes . Thank you . Chairman spear . 

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We are fortunate and women in the 

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military are very fortunate that you're 

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00:10:47,820 --> 00:10:49,820
the chairperson of this committee . 

272
00:10:49,820 --> 00:10:52,740
While many members of congress work on 

273
00:10:52,740 --> 00:10:55,820
and care deeply about the role of women 

274
00:10:55,820 --> 00:10:57,931
and the challenges that women have in 

275
00:10:57,931 --> 00:11:01,110
the military . You are the leader 

276
00:11:01,870 --> 00:11:04,037
and we're fortunate that you are there 

277
00:11:04,630 --> 00:11:06,920
and I thank you for that as chairman of 

278
00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:09,960
the readiness subcommittee of which you 

279
00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,150
are a member . You and I and the 

280
00:11:12,150 --> 00:11:14,094
members of that committee are well 

281
00:11:14,094 --> 00:11:16,820
aware of the extraordinary challenges 

282
00:11:16,830 --> 00:11:19,510
that the military has to be ready to 

283
00:11:19,510 --> 00:11:21,454
perform its duties anywhere in the 

284
00:11:21,454 --> 00:11:24,840
world . We are increasingly relying 

285
00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:28,290
upon women joining the military to 

286
00:11:28,290 --> 00:11:30,310
serve in many different positions . 

287
00:11:30,750 --> 00:11:32,972
Three of which we have now seen in this 

288
00:11:32,972 --> 00:11:36,400
from the witnesses today . I am deeply 

289
00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:40,350
concerned about the long term 

290
00:11:40,350 --> 00:11:42,350
meaning the near near term and long 

291
00:11:42,350 --> 00:11:45,490
term effect that the Dobbs decision is 

292
00:11:45,490 --> 00:11:48,760
going to have on the readiness of the 

293
00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,110
military because it most directly as 

294
00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:54,770
shown by the testimony of the witnesses 

295
00:11:54,770 --> 00:11:58,560
today will have a detrimental effect 

296
00:11:58,570 --> 00:12:02,460
on the women who 

297
00:12:02,460 --> 00:12:04,800
are serving in the military and 

298
00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:07,610
families who are going to be affected 

299
00:12:07,610 --> 00:12:11,110
by the Dobbs decision . 131 

300
00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:14,640
facilities installations are in 

301
00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:18,110
states that are banning abortions in 

302
00:12:18,110 --> 00:12:21,760
nearly every circumstance . This is 

303
00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:23,930
going to roll out in a very negative 

304
00:12:23,930 --> 00:12:27,210
way for the readiness of our military . 

305
00:12:28,450 --> 00:12:30,800
I don't have questions . The members of 

306
00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,070
this of your committee have asked 

307
00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:36,060
profoundly important questions . But I 

308
00:12:36,060 --> 00:12:37,893
am deeply concerned about what's 

309
00:12:37,893 --> 00:12:40,120
happening and the ability of our 

310
00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:43,940
military to perform as a result of the 

311
00:12:43,950 --> 00:12:45,710
Dobbs decision as a result of 

312
00:12:47,220 --> 00:12:51,130
uh states 29 I suppose now who 

313
00:12:51,130 --> 00:12:52,580
are restricting 

314
00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:57,850
abortions . So I look forward to 

315
00:12:57,850 --> 00:12:59,906
continue to work with you . Chairman 

316
00:12:59,906 --> 00:13:01,961
spear thank you . Thank you for your 

317
00:13:01,961 --> 00:13:04,360
leadership on this . Gentlemen yields 

318
00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:06,471
back . I thank him for his comments . 

319
00:13:06,471 --> 00:13:08,700
And the gentleman from texas Mr B . C . 

320
00:13:08,700 --> 00:13:11,170
Is recognized for five minutes . Thank 

321
00:13:11,170 --> 00:13:13,170
you madam chair . Um I know that we 

322
00:13:13,170 --> 00:13:16,230
have talked a lot about uh reproductive 

323
00:13:16,230 --> 00:13:17,841
rights . Today . I wanted to 

324
00:13:17,841 --> 00:13:21,010
specifically ask a question to MS 

325
00:13:21,020 --> 00:13:24,340
Moretti about uh 

326
00:13:24,350 --> 00:13:26,540
contraception and about some what 

327
00:13:26,540 --> 00:13:29,140
what's available out there for people 

328
00:13:29,140 --> 00:13:31,362
that are in the military , particularly 

329
00:13:31,362 --> 00:13:33,529
since she's in texas . I would love to 

330
00:13:33,529 --> 00:13:35,473
know that on texas basis . I had a 

331
00:13:35,473 --> 00:13:37,696
really interesting experience at a town 

332
00:13:37,696 --> 00:13:40,820
hall that I had a few years ago . Um 

333
00:13:40,830 --> 00:13:43,220
and there were some people from a local 

334
00:13:43,220 --> 00:13:46,570
right to life chapter that showed up . 

335
00:13:46,580 --> 00:13:48,860
And they were asking me questions and 

336
00:13:48,860 --> 00:13:51,027
said , look , we're not gonna agree on 

337
00:13:51,027 --> 00:13:53,249
abortion . But I said , can we at least 

338
00:13:53,249 --> 00:13:55,249
agree on trying to prevent unwanted 

339
00:13:55,249 --> 00:13:57,360
pregnancies are unplanned pregnancies 

340
00:13:57,360 --> 00:13:59,527
that would help reduce abortions if if 

341
00:13:59,527 --> 00:14:01,560
you could prevent those particular 

342
00:14:01,560 --> 00:14:04,380
types of pregnancies . And uh the guy 

343
00:14:04,380 --> 00:14:06,950
looked at me and he said , are you a 

344
00:14:06,950 --> 00:14:09,860
part of the hookup culture ? I was 

345
00:14:09,870 --> 00:14:12,990
really surprised by that response back 

346
00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,222
and I said , no , I'm not a part of the 

347
00:14:15,222 --> 00:14:17,444
hookup culture , I'm married . And then 

348
00:14:17,444 --> 00:14:19,389
he said , well are you an animal ? 

349
00:14:19,389 --> 00:14:21,500
Because if you can't , you know , the 

350
00:14:21,500 --> 00:14:21,380
only reason why you would need 

351
00:14:21,380 --> 00:14:24,670
contraception is because you're an 

352
00:14:24,670 --> 00:14:26,892
animal and you can't control yourself . 

353
00:14:26,892 --> 00:14:28,503
That's why people would need 

354
00:14:28,503 --> 00:14:30,670
contraception . And so that was really 

355
00:14:30,670 --> 00:14:33,270
one of the first times that I realized 

356
00:14:33,270 --> 00:14:35,326
that there are people that really do 

357
00:14:35,326 --> 00:14:37,600
believe that contraception should be 

358
00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:39,820
just as controversial and , and , and 

359
00:14:39,830 --> 00:14:41,830
and just as debated over this guy . 

360
00:14:41,830 --> 00:14:43,830
That was part of this right to life 

361
00:14:43,830 --> 00:14:46,052
chapter in Tarrant County in Fort Worth 

362
00:14:46,052 --> 00:14:48,108
that he really adamantly believed in 

363
00:14:48,108 --> 00:14:51,010
that . Uh , and I just wanted to ask 

364
00:14:51,020 --> 00:14:54,920
what sort of contraception services , 

365
00:14:54,930 --> 00:14:57,200
particularly in texas basis like what's 

366
00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:01,140
available . Um , is there division over 

367
00:15:01,140 --> 00:15:04,340
these particular services or or do 

368
00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:07,280
people from all political stripes that 

369
00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:09,820
serve in the military uh , use these 

370
00:15:09,820 --> 00:15:13,190
particular services ? MS moriarty , 

371
00:15:14,980 --> 00:15:16,940
thank you Representative . It's dr 

372
00:15:16,940 --> 00:15:19,680
moriarty . But um , so I have been 

373
00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:22,070
proud to provide abortion care for many , 

374
00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:24,630
many , many people in your district . 

375
00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:26,751
And um , I thank you for your service 

376
00:15:26,751 --> 00:15:29,260
to our communities . Um , I can tell 

377
00:15:29,260 --> 00:15:31,371
you firsthand that the people of your 

378
00:15:31,371 --> 00:15:33,260
district have always struggled to 

379
00:15:33,260 --> 00:15:35,400
access a not only abortion care about 

380
00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:37,850
contraception care . Um , while I have 

381
00:15:37,850 --> 00:15:40,000
only worked on one base before , that 

382
00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,740
was Fort Bliss . People on base often 

383
00:15:42,740 --> 00:15:45,480
had access to contraception and good 

384
00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:47,770
access to contraception , but like the 

385
00:15:47,770 --> 00:15:50,680
other panelists have mentioned um the 

386
00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:53,440
base is not the only place where people 

387
00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:55,496
receive health care and specifically 

388
00:15:55,496 --> 00:15:57,607
family planning health care . So even 

389
00:15:57,607 --> 00:15:59,607
though I've only worked on one base 

390
00:15:59,607 --> 00:16:01,718
providing contraception care , I have 

391
00:16:01,718 --> 00:16:03,884
provided contraception or attempted to 

392
00:16:03,884 --> 00:16:06,107
provide contraception . Too many people 

393
00:16:06,107 --> 00:16:08,107
who are in the armed forces , their 

394
00:16:08,107 --> 00:16:10,218
dependents , their spouses off base . 

395
00:16:10,218 --> 00:16:12,640
And so um it's very true that abortion 

396
00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:14,430
is not the only thing that anti 

397
00:16:14,430 --> 00:16:16,374
abortion extremists are looking to 

398
00:16:16,374 --> 00:16:20,350
limit that in our state um our state 

399
00:16:20,350 --> 00:16:22,580
government here in texas every single 

400
00:16:22,580 --> 00:16:25,060
session , we hear anti abortion . 

401
00:16:25,060 --> 00:16:27,980
Extremists also saying that they want 

402
00:16:27,980 --> 00:16:29,580
to limit or stop access to 

403
00:16:29,580 --> 00:16:31,747
contraception that they actually don't 

404
00:16:31,747 --> 00:16:34,150
understand how contraception works . 

405
00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,650
They often conflate contraception with 

406
00:16:36,660 --> 00:16:39,460
abortion care . Um and and quite 

407
00:16:39,460 --> 00:16:42,090
frankly it is very very disturbing that 

408
00:16:42,090 --> 00:16:44,520
many members of our legislature here in 

409
00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:47,240
texas also believe these same things . 

410
00:16:47,250 --> 00:16:50,920
Um um yeah I'll end 

411
00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:54,890
there dr Murad you know with that . Do 

412
00:16:54,890 --> 00:16:57,168
you think that there is an opportunity , 

413
00:16:57,168 --> 00:16:59,334
I mean one of the right to life people 

414
00:16:59,334 --> 00:17:01,550
that also a company to to to come and 

415
00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,100
initially protest , but I did urge them 

416
00:17:04,100 --> 00:17:06,100
to sit down and ask me questions as 

417
00:17:06,100 --> 00:17:08,460
well . Uh strong believer of the First 

418
00:17:08,460 --> 00:17:12,360
Amendment uh and uh you know one of the 

419
00:17:12,360 --> 00:17:14,416
ladies said that she was a nurse and 

420
00:17:14,416 --> 00:17:16,693
she was trying to explain to me that I . 

421
00:17:16,693 --> 00:17:18,916
U . D . S . Don't actually work . Uh do 

422
00:17:18,916 --> 00:17:22,010
you think that there is an opportunity 

423
00:17:22,010 --> 00:17:24,530
for people that you have met from 

424
00:17:24,540 --> 00:17:26,707
different political , you know whether 

425
00:17:26,707 --> 00:17:28,818
they're right or left to start having 

426
00:17:28,818 --> 00:17:30,970
more substantive contra um more 

427
00:17:30,970 --> 00:17:33,026
substantive conversations around the 

428
00:17:33,026 --> 00:17:35,026
topic of contraception that doesn't 

429
00:17:35,026 --> 00:17:37,180
delve into the you know these sort of 

430
00:17:37,180 --> 00:17:39,347
you know black and white style camps . 

431
00:17:39,910 --> 00:17:42,520
Well I'll say representative that um I 

432
00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:45,040
take care of people from every 

433
00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:47,430
political party and every religious 

434
00:17:47,430 --> 00:17:50,580
belief . And so this actually it's not 

435
00:17:50,580 --> 00:17:52,710
a political issue in that everyone 

436
00:17:52,710 --> 00:17:54,599
needs abortion , republicans need 

437
00:17:54,599 --> 00:17:56,821
abortion . People who are pro life need 

438
00:17:56,821 --> 00:17:58,988
abortion and I take care of them too . 

439
00:17:59,130 --> 00:18:02,540
And so while I am happy 

440
00:18:02,540 --> 00:18:05,910
and proud to serve and take care of 

441
00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:08,031
anyone , no matter what their beliefs 

442
00:18:08,031 --> 00:18:10,330
are , I don't engage in arguing with 

443
00:18:10,330 --> 00:18:12,497
people who fundamentally don't believe 

444
00:18:12,497 --> 00:18:14,420
in science and who fundamentally 

445
00:18:14,420 --> 00:18:16,642
believe in white supremacy , right that 

446
00:18:16,642 --> 00:18:18,531
I'm not going to argue with those 

447
00:18:18,531 --> 00:18:20,253
people but I will provide them 

448
00:18:20,253 --> 00:18:22,309
healthcare when they need it . Thank 

449
00:18:22,309 --> 00:18:24,531
you very much . Dr moriarty . Thank you 

450
00:18:24,531 --> 00:18:26,531
leo back to the chair . Gentlemen , 

451
00:18:26,531 --> 00:18:29,210
yields back . The gentlewoman from 

452
00:18:29,210 --> 00:18:31,377
texas MS Garcia is recognized for five 

453
00:18:31,377 --> 00:18:33,880
minutes . Thank you madam Chair and 

454
00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:36,490
thank you for allowing me in improving 

455
00:18:36,500 --> 00:18:39,500
my joining your committee as um as my 

456
00:18:39,510 --> 00:18:41,566
compadre over here said , you know , 

457
00:18:41,566 --> 00:18:43,510
we're not on your committee but we 

458
00:18:43,510 --> 00:18:45,288
certainly have marveled at your 

459
00:18:45,288 --> 00:18:47,510
leadership many of these issues on this 

460
00:18:47,510 --> 00:18:49,510
committee and and this issue is one 

461
00:18:49,510 --> 00:18:51,670
that's very important to me and to so 

462
00:18:51,670 --> 00:18:55,420
many Texans . Uh And as as the doctor 

463
00:18:55,420 --> 00:18:57,531
just noted , you know , we're sort of 

464
00:18:57,531 --> 00:19:00,500
the epicenter for a lot of what's been 

465
00:19:00,500 --> 00:19:02,722
going on on this issue . So I thank you 

466
00:19:02,722 --> 00:19:05,050
for for bringing forward such great 

467
00:19:05,050 --> 00:19:07,770
witnesses for this hearing . Abortion 

468
00:19:07,770 --> 00:19:10,510
care is essential to a person's health 

469
00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:12,576
and is central to their economic and 

470
00:19:12,576 --> 00:19:14,540
social well being . A group of 

471
00:19:14,540 --> 00:19:16,484
extremists across the country have 

472
00:19:16,484 --> 00:19:18,596
entirely fought for the last 50 years 

473
00:19:18,596 --> 00:19:21,620
um to not strip women of their rights 

474
00:19:21,630 --> 00:19:23,990
to to have autonomy or their bodies . 

475
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:26,278
And with the help of the Supreme Court , 

476
00:19:26,278 --> 00:19:29,540
they have finally succeeded regretfully , 

477
00:19:29,550 --> 00:19:31,820
women do deserve better and 

478
00:19:31,820 --> 00:19:34,350
particularly those that serve in our 

479
00:19:34,350 --> 00:19:37,130
military . You know , my district in 

480
00:19:37,130 --> 00:19:40,730
Houston is about 77% Latino . So it 

481
00:19:40,730 --> 00:19:43,830
does impact in my view uh 

482
00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:47,470
minority women , vulnerable populations , 

483
00:19:47,470 --> 00:19:50,850
poor women uh more than any other group . 

484
00:19:50,860 --> 00:19:52,971
Uh So it's been interesting for me to 

485
00:19:52,971 --> 00:19:55,340
listen this morning because obviously 

486
00:19:55,340 --> 00:19:57,710
the additional barriers that are placed 

487
00:19:57,710 --> 00:19:59,988
on on women that live on installations , 

488
00:19:59,988 --> 00:20:02,330
whether it's no matter what military 

489
00:20:02,330 --> 00:20:05,980
branch is very very concerning to me . 

490
00:20:06,390 --> 00:20:09,800
Um statutory bans in different states 

491
00:20:09,810 --> 00:20:12,032
prohibit the Department of Defense from 

492
00:20:12,032 --> 00:20:14,088
providing or paying for abortions in 

493
00:20:14,088 --> 00:20:16,460
most circumstances . I didn't know that 

494
00:20:16,460 --> 00:20:18,640
I'm learning that this is probably now 

495
00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:21,450
Madam Chair , I think um maybe my third 

496
00:20:21,460 --> 00:20:24,180
month on this committee , but I can 

497
00:20:24,180 --> 00:20:27,180
tell you that it's it's really almost 

498
00:20:27,180 --> 00:20:30,500
frightening uh to even think 

499
00:20:30,510 --> 00:20:33,830
uh as my colleague from texas has said 

500
00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:36,700
uh that there may be restrictions on 

501
00:20:36,700 --> 00:20:39,480
birth control and I . U . D . S . On 

502
00:20:39,490 --> 00:20:42,270
the morning after pill and many others 

503
00:20:42,270 --> 00:20:44,960
because this is what opens the door . 

504
00:20:44,970 --> 00:20:47,740
Uh So I wanna , my question is is 

505
00:20:47,740 --> 00:20:49,907
really to the doctors . I have a niece 

506
00:20:49,907 --> 00:20:52,170
that's a pediatrician . She works in 

507
00:20:52,170 --> 00:20:54,410
Fort Worth at a community health center 

508
00:20:54,790 --> 00:20:56,901
she shares with me . Sometimes it's a 

509
00:20:56,901 --> 00:20:59,680
frustration that she has or she when 

510
00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:01,980
she can't do something for her patient 

511
00:21:01,990 --> 00:21:03,990
whether it's a staffing issue , the 

512
00:21:03,990 --> 00:21:06,690
lack of a specialist . But for your for 

513
00:21:06,690 --> 00:21:10,560
years this is like so different . I 

514
00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:14,070
mean because it's it's a it's it's a 

515
00:21:14,070 --> 00:21:16,710
military folks telling you you can't do 

516
00:21:16,710 --> 00:21:19,280
something . But I'm sure both doctors 

517
00:21:19,290 --> 00:21:21,290
are like my niece , they take their 

518
00:21:21,290 --> 00:21:23,401
Hippocratic oath very seriously . And 

519
00:21:23,401 --> 00:21:26,070
it paints her when she's gotta turn 

520
00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,690
mama away because she doesn't have the 

521
00:21:28,700 --> 00:21:30,811
shot available that her child needs . 

522
00:21:30,811 --> 00:21:32,700
So I just wanted to hear from the 

523
00:21:32,700 --> 00:21:35,220
doctors on on how they feel . Uh would 

524
00:21:35,220 --> 00:21:37,480
they have to turn someone away because 

525
00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,310
they cannot provide a service that they 

526
00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:43,210
would want to do and that their medical 

527
00:21:43,220 --> 00:21:45,220
profession would would dictate that 

528
00:21:45,220 --> 00:21:49,220
they do either one of 

529
00:21:49,220 --> 00:21:51,498
the doctors . I want to hear from both . 

530
00:21:51,498 --> 00:21:53,831
But either whoever wants to start first . 

531
00:21:54,030 --> 00:21:56,141
Do you want me to take this first ? I 

532
00:21:56,141 --> 00:21:58,650
can take this first . Thank thank you 

533
00:21:58,660 --> 00:22:01,070
congresswoman . I actually appreciate 

534
00:22:01,070 --> 00:22:04,750
the question . It that is honestly one 

535
00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,570
of the most difficult things um 

536
00:22:08,580 --> 00:22:11,680
for us as physicians in the military is 

537
00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:14,060
to have legal restrictions to what we 

538
00:22:14,060 --> 00:22:17,130
can provide . Um , I'd actually like to 

539
00:22:17,140 --> 00:22:19,390
share another patient story with you if 

540
00:22:19,390 --> 00:22:21,680
I may . Um , I was a flight surgeon 

541
00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:23,680
prior to the passage of the Shaheen 

542
00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:25,736
amendment . So at that time we could 

543
00:22:25,736 --> 00:22:28,110
only provide abortion services if the 

544
00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:30,120
life of the mother was at risk . We 

545
00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:32,342
could not provide them in cases of rape 

546
00:22:32,342 --> 00:22:34,800
and incest . Um , and I remember one 

547
00:22:34,810 --> 00:22:37,330
particular case , um , where one of the 

548
00:22:37,330 --> 00:22:39,900
women in my squadron was raped at a 

549
00:22:39,900 --> 00:22:42,980
squadron party as her squadron doctor 

550
00:22:42,980 --> 00:22:45,091
when she found out she was pregnant , 

551
00:22:45,091 --> 00:22:47,313
she came to me her care and I had to be 

552
00:22:47,313 --> 00:22:49,640
the one to tell her that legally we 

553
00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,300
could not provide her abortion at the 

554
00:22:52,300 --> 00:22:54,840
military hospital that we were at and 

555
00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:57,173
she would have to pay for it on her own . 

556
00:22:57,380 --> 00:23:00,090
She asked me if I could drive her to 

557
00:23:00,090 --> 00:23:02,257
the local planned parenthood after she 

558
00:23:02,257 --> 00:23:04,257
made an appointment because she was 

559
00:23:04,257 --> 00:23:06,312
absolutely positive that she did not 

560
00:23:06,312 --> 00:23:08,368
want to carry this pregnancy to term 

561
00:23:08,368 --> 00:23:11,630
after a rape . Um , That's not an 

562
00:23:11,630 --> 00:23:13,852
unusual thing . As a flight surgeon , I 

563
00:23:13,852 --> 00:23:16,060
would take many of my patients who had 

564
00:23:16,070 --> 00:23:18,660
um medical appointments out in town 

565
00:23:18,660 --> 00:23:20,827
with specialists to their appointments 

566
00:23:20,827 --> 00:23:23,049
to help me that lays on . So it was not 

567
00:23:23,049 --> 00:23:25,960
an unusual request , but when I asked 

568
00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:28,500
for permission to do that , I was told 

569
00:23:28,500 --> 00:23:30,560
by my legal officer that I could not 

570
00:23:30,570 --> 00:23:33,030
because I was being paid by the navy . 

571
00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:36,780
So me driving her was essentially 

572
00:23:36,780 --> 00:23:39,240
using military funds to help her get 

573
00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:42,400
her abortion care . The legal officer's 

574
00:23:42,410 --> 00:23:44,466
recommendation was that she used the 

575
00:23:44,466 --> 00:23:46,577
duty driver at this time . There were 

576
00:23:46,577 --> 00:23:48,840
only a few women within the squadron . 

577
00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:51,007
So it was most likely that duty driver 

578
00:23:51,007 --> 00:23:53,200
was going to be male and very possibly 

579
00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:56,460
somebody that was at that party that 

580
00:23:56,460 --> 00:23:59,010
she had been raped at . I can't even 

581
00:23:59,010 --> 00:24:02,340
express the relief that I had when the 

582
00:24:02,340 --> 00:24:04,229
Shaheen amendment passed and I no 

583
00:24:04,229 --> 00:24:06,451
longer had to tell patients who came to 

584
00:24:06,451 --> 00:24:08,920
me with a pregnancy after rape that I 

585
00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,430
could not take care of them . Um , it 

586
00:24:11,430 --> 00:24:14,250
was it was an amazing , amazing relief 

587
00:24:14,250 --> 00:24:17,840
to um , to be able to do that . However , 

588
00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:19,951
I do realize that many of my patients 

589
00:24:19,951 --> 00:24:22,560
don't actually know that they have that 

590
00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:25,030
right . Um , and that I can take care 

591
00:24:25,030 --> 00:24:27,030
of them within a military treatment 

592
00:24:27,030 --> 00:24:29,141
facility . Um , it breaks my heart to 

593
00:24:29,141 --> 00:24:31,330
hear how many women still end up going 

594
00:24:31,330 --> 00:24:33,441
out in town to get the care that they 

595
00:24:33,441 --> 00:24:36,120
need after great procedures . Um , the 

596
00:24:36,130 --> 00:24:39,240
patient that dr moriarty discussed who 

597
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:41,560
could have used general anesthesia if 

598
00:24:41,570 --> 00:24:45,230
she had felt comfortable telling her 

599
00:24:45,230 --> 00:24:47,286
physician that she had been raped in 

600
00:24:47,286 --> 00:24:49,397
the pregnancy with , it's a result of 

601
00:24:49,397 --> 00:24:51,750
rape , I or when my colleagues could 

602
00:24:51,750 --> 00:24:54,870
have actually provided that anesthesia 

603
00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,213
so that she wasn't paying out of pocket , 

604
00:24:57,213 --> 00:25:00,500
but she didn't know that and the 

605
00:25:00,500 --> 00:25:02,510
military medical system didn't know 

606
00:25:02,510 --> 00:25:04,621
that she needed that care and I think 

607
00:25:04,621 --> 00:25:06,677
that that is one of the big gaps and 

608
00:25:06,677 --> 00:25:08,788
challenges that we have right now and 

609
00:25:08,788 --> 00:25:10,621
it breaks my heart . Thank you . 

610
00:25:11,020 --> 00:25:14,770
Gentlewoman's time has expired . The 

611
00:25:14,780 --> 00:25:17,430
gentleman from California mr chicano , 

612
00:25:17,430 --> 00:25:19,652
Chair of the Veterans affairs Committee 

613
00:25:19,652 --> 00:25:23,080
is recognized for five minutes . I want 

614
00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:25,080
to thank you . Chairwoman Spear for 

615
00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:27,302
allowing me to wave onto this morning's 

616
00:25:27,302 --> 00:25:29,469
hearing and I want to thank the active 

617
00:25:29,469 --> 00:25:31,680
duty service members for your 

618
00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:34,013
courageous testimony . Chairwoman Spear . 

619
00:25:34,013 --> 00:25:37,550
I'm just profoundly profoundly moved by 

620
00:25:37,550 --> 00:25:39,828
the testimony I'm hearing this morning . 

621
00:25:39,828 --> 00:25:43,790
Um just tragic stories . Um as chairman 

622
00:25:43,790 --> 00:25:46,123
of the House Veterans Affairs Committee , 

623
00:25:46,123 --> 00:25:48,068
I'm committed to ensuring that our 

624
00:25:48,068 --> 00:25:50,234
nation and via continue to support our 

625
00:25:50,234 --> 00:25:52,840
service members after they no longer 

626
00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,520
are in uniform . So I'd like to ask 

627
00:25:55,530 --> 00:25:59,160
Miss Arana and Miss museo Mazzello , 

628
00:25:59,170 --> 00:26:01,870
are you aware that veterans have even 

629
00:26:01,870 --> 00:26:04,360
less access to abortion counseling and 

630
00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:07,120
abortion services through via 

631
00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:09,520
healthcare than active duty service 

632
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:11,576
members do through the Department of 

633
00:26:11,576 --> 00:26:15,480
Defense . Thank you sir for the 

634
00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:17,480
question . Um I have not researched 

635
00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:20,720
honestly about V . A . Um rights or 

636
00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:24,080
services after . Um I'm out of uniform 

637
00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:26,390
and retirement . I think that again it 

638
00:26:26,390 --> 00:26:28,870
is such a disservice that this is the 

639
00:26:28,870 --> 00:26:32,190
support or lack of some support for 

640
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:35,980
members who supposedly are celebrated 

641
00:26:35,990 --> 00:26:38,101
right who are thanked for our service 

642
00:26:38,101 --> 00:26:41,280
but yet it feels very performative when 

643
00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:43,376
those thank you's aren't followed up 

644
00:26:43,376 --> 00:26:46,380
with actual actionable support . Thank 

645
00:26:46,380 --> 00:26:49,780
you . Thank you Miss Arana Mismo Zillow . 

646
00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:53,093
Hello . Thank you for your question sir . 

647
00:26:53,093 --> 00:26:55,830
Actually I did know that um I follow 

648
00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:58,160
the V . A . Healthcare system as a 

649
00:26:58,170 --> 00:27:00,226
medical service corps officer . I am 

650
00:27:00,226 --> 00:27:02,114
familiar with the military health 

651
00:27:02,114 --> 00:27:04,337
system and with the V . A . As well and 

652
00:27:04,337 --> 00:27:06,559
I'm proud of my military service and it 

653
00:27:06,559 --> 00:27:08,781
saddens me to know that soon I will end 

654
00:27:08,781 --> 00:27:11,003
my military career and that I will have 

655
00:27:11,003 --> 00:27:12,837
to face these challenges and the 

656
00:27:12,837 --> 00:27:15,170
sacrifices that I made during my career . 

657
00:27:15,170 --> 00:27:17,337
Um Those will go unnoticed because I'm 

658
00:27:17,337 --> 00:27:19,503
a woman and I won't have access to the 

659
00:27:19,503 --> 00:27:21,670
same care that I did when I was active 

660
00:27:21,670 --> 00:27:25,510
duty . Thank you . Well , it makes me 

661
00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:29,300
concerned that this is one of the 

662
00:27:29,300 --> 00:27:32,560
reasons why women veterans do not 

663
00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:36,220
access health care at the V . A . They 

664
00:27:36,220 --> 00:27:38,820
may need the very specialized services 

665
00:27:38,830 --> 00:27:41,590
in terms of post traumatic stress and 

666
00:27:41,590 --> 00:27:43,701
mental health that's very specialized 

667
00:27:43,701 --> 00:27:46,560
to veterans . But the fact that via 

668
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:50,510
cannot even counsel women about 

669
00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:52,840
um their health care with regard to 

670
00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:55,420
abortion is very troubling to me . Um 

671
00:27:55,430 --> 00:27:58,270
Vis a vis A . Is not bound by the Hyde 

672
00:27:58,270 --> 00:28:00,381
amendment exemptions that D . O . D . 

673
00:28:00,381 --> 00:28:02,450
Follows for providing abortions to 

674
00:28:02,450 --> 00:28:04,450
service members only in the case of 

675
00:28:04,450 --> 00:28:06,672
rape incest or the preservation of life 

676
00:28:06,672 --> 00:28:08,900
of the mother . So V . A . Doesn't do 

677
00:28:08,910 --> 00:28:11,380
abortions in those cases either . Uh 

678
00:28:11,390 --> 00:28:13,612
Nonetheless via has made its own policy 

679
00:28:13,612 --> 00:28:15,770
to avoid providing any abortion 

680
00:28:15,770 --> 00:28:19,070
counseling or services ? MS . Arana and 

681
00:28:19,070 --> 00:28:21,014
Miss Mosiello as members ? Service 

682
00:28:21,014 --> 00:28:23,070
members who will one day be veterans 

683
00:28:23,070 --> 00:28:25,292
yourselves ? Do you believe ? Ea should 

684
00:28:25,292 --> 00:28:28,340
at the very least align itself with the 

685
00:28:28,340 --> 00:28:30,229
Department of Defense and use its 

686
00:28:30,229 --> 00:28:31,896
authority to provide abortion 

687
00:28:31,896 --> 00:28:33,784
counseling and services and those 

688
00:28:33,784 --> 00:28:37,560
limited circumstances . I 

689
00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:41,140
believe that all veterans are deserving 

690
00:28:41,140 --> 00:28:44,140
of a standard of care and standard of 

691
00:28:44,140 --> 00:28:46,730
care means comprehensive reproductive 

692
00:28:46,730 --> 00:28:49,140
care as well to include abortion . 

693
00:28:53,460 --> 00:28:56,010
Thank you . I believe reproductive care 

694
00:28:56,020 --> 00:28:58,187
is health care and then it should make 

695
00:28:58,187 --> 00:29:00,020
no difference . And it should be 

696
00:29:00,020 --> 00:29:01,964
included as part of our benefits . 

697
00:29:01,964 --> 00:29:05,490
Thank you . Well , thank you . Dr Lami 

698
00:29:05,490 --> 00:29:07,823
based on your experience as a D . O . D . 

699
00:29:07,823 --> 00:29:10,046
Provider . What guidance should provide 

700
00:29:10,046 --> 00:29:12,268
to its medical staff in the wake of the 

701
00:29:12,268 --> 00:29:14,490
Dobbs decision And what are the dangers 

702
00:29:14,490 --> 00:29:17,310
of a continuing its policy to avoid 

703
00:29:17,310 --> 00:29:19,870
providing abortion counseling and care 

704
00:29:19,870 --> 00:29:21,814
even in cases of rape , incest and 

705
00:29:21,814 --> 00:29:24,800
threats to the mother's life ? Thank 

706
00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,350
you sir . Um , while I cannot speak 

707
00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,840
directly to policies within the V . A . 

708
00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,118
And I have not worked within the V . A . 

709
00:29:33,118 --> 00:29:35,400
System . I do believe that reproductive 

710
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,170
health care and full scope care is 

711
00:29:38,180 --> 00:29:41,380
primary health care . And we should be 

712
00:29:41,590 --> 00:29:45,410
allowing our constituents to to 

713
00:29:45,410 --> 00:29:48,280
access it in the full measure whether 

714
00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:50,820
or not they're a military treatment 

715
00:29:50,820 --> 00:29:54,140
facility or a V . A . Facility . So I 

716
00:29:54,140 --> 00:29:57,460
hope that both the V . A . And within 

717
00:29:57,460 --> 00:30:00,030
military medicine were able to continue 

718
00:30:00,030 --> 00:30:02,860
to expand the access to that very 

719
00:30:02,860 --> 00:30:04,640
needed and often lifesaving 

720
00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:06,696
reproductive health care for women . 

721
00:30:07,130 --> 00:30:09,297
Does it trouble you that you know from 

722
00:30:09,297 --> 00:30:11,408
your ability to counsel women to just 

723
00:30:11,408 --> 00:30:13,297
offer them counseling about their 

724
00:30:13,297 --> 00:30:15,463
options ? Including women whose allies 

725
00:30:15,463 --> 00:30:17,686
may have endangered . Does that trouble 

726
00:30:17,686 --> 00:30:20,019
you ? That via can't do that counseling ? 

727
00:30:20,019 --> 00:30:22,241
I find that very troubling because that 

728
00:30:22,241 --> 00:30:24,420
is something that I do have to do with 

729
00:30:24,420 --> 00:30:27,330
my patients very frequently . Um it's 

730
00:30:27,330 --> 00:30:29,950
heartbreaking to not be able to always 

731
00:30:29,950 --> 00:30:32,560
provide the care that patients need if 

732
00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:34,830
it's not within the federal regulations 

733
00:30:34,830 --> 00:30:37,590
allowed for us in MTs but to not and be 

734
00:30:37,590 --> 00:30:40,610
able to counsel them and to essentially 

735
00:30:40,610 --> 00:30:43,000
have a gag order . That doesn't let me 

736
00:30:43,010 --> 00:30:45,550
tell the patient what the full scope of 

737
00:30:45,550 --> 00:30:47,610
their of the health care that's 

738
00:30:47,610 --> 00:30:49,610
available or should be available to 

739
00:30:49,610 --> 00:30:53,200
them is um is very troubling and I 

740
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,256
would find that very disturbing if I 

741
00:30:55,256 --> 00:30:57,340
was in that situation . Thank you , 

742
00:30:57,350 --> 00:30:59,517
Madam Chair . I'm sorry for going over 

743
00:30:59,517 --> 00:31:01,739
your back . The gentleman yields back . 

744
00:31:01,739 --> 00:31:03,683
The gentlewoman from California Mr 

745
00:31:03,683 --> 00:31:05,790
Brownlee , the chair . The Health 

746
00:31:05,790 --> 00:31:07,960
Committee of the Veterans Committee is 

747
00:31:07,970 --> 00:31:11,930
recognized . Thank you very much 

748
00:31:11,930 --> 00:31:15,620
Madam Chair And I also want to uh 

749
00:31:15,630 --> 00:31:18,200
add my sentiments too Miss Serrano and 

750
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:21,180
mismos Ellie for thank thanking them 

751
00:31:21,180 --> 00:31:23,347
for sharing their stories today . Your 

752
00:31:23,347 --> 00:31:27,320
bravery is truly twofold by serving 

753
00:31:27,330 --> 00:31:29,920
your country in the military and now 

754
00:31:29,930 --> 00:31:32,750
serving our nation by coming forward to 

755
00:31:32,750 --> 00:31:34,890
publicly tell your story . So we are 

756
00:31:34,900 --> 00:31:37,870
extraordinarily grateful and chairwoman 

757
00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:40,940
spear thank you for letting me wave 

758
00:31:40,940 --> 00:31:42,996
onto the committee this morning , as 

759
00:31:42,996 --> 00:31:44,829
you mentioned , I'm chair of the 

760
00:31:44,829 --> 00:31:46,551
veteran Affairs Health and the 

761
00:31:46,551 --> 00:31:48,440
subcommittee and I also chair the 

762
00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:50,960
Women's Veterans uh Task Force . And as 

763
00:31:50,970 --> 00:31:53,081
the chairman of the V . A . Committee 

764
00:31:53,081 --> 00:31:55,580
just said the V . A . Has the most 

765
00:31:56,190 --> 00:31:59,450
active policy of any federal 

766
00:31:59,460 --> 00:32:02,800
agency on abortion and abortion 

767
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:05,640
counseling . Uh there is a ban on both 

768
00:32:05,650 --> 00:32:09,580
abortion and abortion uh counseling 

769
00:32:09,580 --> 00:32:11,730
and it is the most restrictive . Even 

770
00:32:12,020 --> 00:32:15,730
uh the Bureau of prisons allow 

771
00:32:15,740 --> 00:32:19,580
abortions , elective abortions . Uh 

772
00:32:19,590 --> 00:32:22,110
so prisoners in our federal prisons are 

773
00:32:22,110 --> 00:32:24,330
allowed elective abortions . They must 

774
00:32:24,330 --> 00:32:26,650
pay for it . But it is on a sliding 

775
00:32:26,650 --> 00:32:30,380
scale in terms of what they can afford . 

776
00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:35,200
So I I think I wanted to ask the 

777
00:32:35,210 --> 00:32:37,560
doctors this question a little bit 

778
00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:39,980
different than what the chairman of the 

779
00:32:39,980 --> 00:32:43,180
V . A . Was asking . And before we go 

780
00:32:43,180 --> 00:32:46,570
on to the next panel , because I I'm 

781
00:32:46,570 --> 00:32:48,570
sure we will ask them the question 

782
00:32:48,570 --> 00:32:50,792
about what kind of guidance has come so 

783
00:32:50,792 --> 00:32:53,740
far . I'm interested to hear from you 

784
00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:57,900
at this point in our post roe world . 

785
00:32:57,910 --> 00:33:01,350
Um what guidance and support 

786
00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:03,680
have you received from the Department 

787
00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:06,860
of Defense thus far in terms 

788
00:33:06,870 --> 00:33:10,250
of , you know how you can best 

789
00:33:10,250 --> 00:33:12,120
support your patients ? 

790
00:33:14,860 --> 00:33:16,760
Thank you , ma'am . Um there was 

791
00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:20,470
actually a recent statement on the 28th 

792
00:33:20,470 --> 00:33:23,210
of june from under the under Secretary 

793
00:33:23,210 --> 00:33:27,040
of Defense Mr Cisneros , who who 

794
00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:29,680
did specify that we in military 

795
00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:32,520
medicine can and will continue to 

796
00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:34,860
provide full scope reproductive health 

797
00:33:34,860 --> 00:33:37,950
care within the scope of federal 

798
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:41,210
legislation . Um , so in theory that 

799
00:33:41,210 --> 00:33:44,020
does mean that we continue to provide 

800
00:33:44,020 --> 00:33:46,280
the care we have always provided . And 

801
00:33:46,290 --> 00:33:49,520
for physicians such as myself who are 

802
00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:51,930
stationed in Washington or California 

803
00:33:51,940 --> 00:33:54,460
or states without restriction , it does 

804
00:33:54,460 --> 00:33:56,950
not make a difference . It means that 

805
00:33:56,950 --> 00:33:59,006
we're continuing to provide the care 

806
00:33:59,006 --> 00:34:01,283
that we've always been able to provide . 

807
00:34:01,283 --> 00:34:03,710
Um I do think that for many of my 

808
00:34:03,710 --> 00:34:05,932
colleagues that are in more restrictive 

809
00:34:05,932 --> 00:34:08,930
states , there is still a concern on 

810
00:34:08,930 --> 00:34:11,041
whether or not they can be prosecuted 

811
00:34:11,041 --> 00:34:13,041
from the state even though they are 

812
00:34:13,041 --> 00:34:14,874
legally allowed to provide these 

813
00:34:14,874 --> 00:34:17,160
services on the federal land . Um , and 

814
00:34:17,160 --> 00:34:20,090
that is one of the concerns that that 

815
00:34:20,090 --> 00:34:23,550
exists . And I would encourage the 

816
00:34:23,550 --> 00:34:27,280
committee to make um make legislation 

817
00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:29,640
that allow that protects both the 

818
00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:31,840
physicians and the patients um , 

819
00:34:31,850 --> 00:34:34,300
regardless of where they are stationed . 

820
00:34:34,310 --> 00:34:35,230
Thank you . 

821
00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:41,280
And I'll just add to that that um , 

822
00:34:41,930 --> 00:34:43,874
to your point , Representative and 

823
00:34:43,874 --> 00:34:45,930
actually to Representative Kim Kim's 

824
00:34:45,930 --> 00:34:49,190
point earlier as well that 

825
00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:51,290
the laws that are currently being 

826
00:34:51,290 --> 00:34:54,360
passed across the country are also 

827
00:34:54,370 --> 00:34:57,060
aiming and targeting at helpers . And 

828
00:34:57,060 --> 00:35:00,250
we heard today , how important just one 

829
00:35:00,250 --> 00:35:02,830
person can be for a service member to 

830
00:35:02,830 --> 00:35:05,050
be able to access an abortion . But 

831
00:35:05,050 --> 00:35:07,106
right now , for example , what we're 

832
00:35:07,106 --> 00:35:09,440
seeing in texas is that extremists are 

833
00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:12,020
saying that they want to come after and 

834
00:35:12,020 --> 00:35:15,250
arrest and prosecute anyone who AIDS 

835
00:35:15,250 --> 00:35:17,361
and abets an abortion . So that means 

836
00:35:17,361 --> 00:35:19,528
anyone that gives you that gas money , 

837
00:35:19,528 --> 00:35:21,417
Anyone that gives you that ride , 

838
00:35:21,417 --> 00:35:23,417
anyone that helps you arrange those 

839
00:35:23,417 --> 00:35:25,560
that care . And so we're not just 

840
00:35:25,570 --> 00:35:29,230
talking about a cruel and inhumane ban 

841
00:35:29,230 --> 00:35:32,680
on a human right to health care . But 

842
00:35:32,690 --> 00:35:36,100
also uh we are talking about systems 

843
00:35:36,100 --> 00:35:38,211
that are being put into place to keep 

844
00:35:38,211 --> 00:35:40,267
neighbors and community members from 

845
00:35:40,267 --> 00:35:42,590
supporting each other . We should all 

846
00:35:42,590 --> 00:35:44,990
be worried about what that will mean 

847
00:35:44,990 --> 00:35:47,370
for the future of our country . Thank 

848
00:35:47,370 --> 00:35:49,520
you for that . And to the doctors as 

849
00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:51,631
well . Can you prescribe the abortion 

850
00:35:51,631 --> 00:35:54,030
pill ? No , you cannot prescribe the 

851
00:35:54,030 --> 00:35:56,141
abortion pill technically yet because 

852
00:35:56,141 --> 00:35:57,960
there is what is called a risk 

853
00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:00,490
evaluation and mitigation strategy on 

854
00:36:00,490 --> 00:36:02,620
mythic kristen and miss a process tal 

855
00:36:02,630 --> 00:36:04,770
And so the combination drugs that are 

856
00:36:04,770 --> 00:36:07,320
used in medication abortion must be 

857
00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:10,110
dispensed through a health care 

858
00:36:10,110 --> 00:36:12,221
facility . You can't go to your local 

859
00:36:12,221 --> 00:36:15,090
pharmacy or through certain types of 

860
00:36:15,090 --> 00:36:17,312
registered pharmacies , but for example 

861
00:36:17,312 --> 00:36:19,479
in texas it cannot be accessed through 

862
00:36:19,479 --> 00:36:22,330
a pharmacy at all . Thank you for that . 

863
00:36:22,330 --> 00:36:24,386
And thank you again , madam . Cherry 

864
00:36:24,386 --> 00:36:26,920
yield back . The gentlewoman yields 

865
00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:30,610
back . Um this brings to a conclusion 

866
00:36:30,610 --> 00:36:34,010
our our first panel and um I must say 

867
00:36:34,010 --> 00:36:37,940
it it is truly a great privilege for 

868
00:36:37,940 --> 00:36:40,650
us to have heard from you . Major arana , 

869
00:36:40,660 --> 00:36:44,580
major Mosiello dr LeMay dr 

870
00:36:44,590 --> 00:36:47,090
moore Ede . I've really done a terrible 

871
00:36:47,090 --> 00:36:49,310
job on your name moya yeti is that 

872
00:36:49,310 --> 00:36:52,510
correct ? Did I get it right ? My 

873
00:36:52,930 --> 00:36:56,930
um you have provided us with some great 

874
00:36:56,940 --> 00:37:00,800
insights into um the fractured system 

875
00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:03,180
that exists in the military for women . 

876
00:37:03,190 --> 00:37:06,480
One that is untenable and unacceptable 

877
00:37:06,490 --> 00:37:09,560
and one that we must fix . So um you 

878
00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:13,560
have provided great um information 

879
00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:17,350
for us . Great testimony , your courage 

880
00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:20,880
and bravery is to be commended . Um and 

881
00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:23,130
with that we are going to recess . 

882
00:37:25,190 --> 00:37:27,560
All right . Um we're going to recess 

883
00:37:27,560 --> 00:37:29,740
momentarily to bring the next panel on 

884
00:37:29,750 --> 00:37:32,860
and we're gonna take the testimony from 

885
00:37:32,870 --> 00:37:35,980
the under secretary and then we will 

886
00:37:35,990 --> 00:37:38,212
recess after that for the two votes and 

887
00:37:38,212 --> 00:37:40,323
come back . So again , thank you very 

888
00:37:40,323 --> 00:37:43,950
much . We now welcome our second panel 

889
00:37:43,950 --> 00:37:46,380
and we welcome back a friend and former 

890
00:37:46,380 --> 00:37:50,120
colleague um the honorable um 

891
00:37:50,130 --> 00:37:53,860
undersecretary uh in the 

892
00:37:55,580 --> 00:37:59,020
Department of Defense for personnel and 

893
00:37:59,020 --> 00:38:01,750
readiness . And Miss Celine mullen , 

894
00:38:01,750 --> 00:38:03,639
the acting Assistant Secretary of 

895
00:38:03,639 --> 00:38:06,130
Defense for Health Affairs . Um So 

896
00:38:06,130 --> 00:38:08,770
under Secretary Cisneros um the floor 

897
00:38:08,770 --> 00:38:12,620
is yours , Chairwoman spear 

898
00:38:12,630 --> 00:38:14,241
ranking member Gallagher and 

899
00:38:14,241 --> 00:38:15,852
distinguished members of the 

900
00:38:15,852 --> 00:38:17,686
subcommittee . Thank you for the 

901
00:38:17,686 --> 00:38:19,797
opportunity to discuss the rights and 

902
00:38:19,797 --> 00:38:21,908
access to reproductive healthcare for 

903
00:38:21,908 --> 00:38:24,019
for of our service members Department 

904
00:38:24,019 --> 00:38:26,074
of Defense civilians and D . O . D . 

905
00:38:26,074 --> 00:38:28,130
Families . In light of the june 24th 

906
00:38:28,130 --> 00:38:31,930
2022 Supreme Court ruling Dobbs joining 

907
00:38:31,930 --> 00:38:33,708
me today is my acting Assistant 

908
00:38:33,708 --> 00:38:36,041
Secretary of Defense for health affairs . 

909
00:38:36,041 --> 00:38:38,263
Micheline mullen . Secretary Austin has 

910
00:38:38,263 --> 00:38:40,041
made clear that nothing is more 

911
00:38:40,041 --> 00:38:41,986
important than the health and well 

912
00:38:41,986 --> 00:38:44,208
being of our service members , civilian 

913
00:38:44,208 --> 00:38:46,430
workforce and D . O . D . Families , we 

914
00:38:46,430 --> 00:38:48,430
are committed to taking care of our 

915
00:38:48,430 --> 00:38:50,208
people and ensuring a ready and 

916
00:38:50,208 --> 00:38:52,263
resilient force . I want to start by 

917
00:38:52,263 --> 00:38:54,374
saying that I was deeply moved by the 

918
00:38:54,374 --> 00:38:56,374
witness testimonies in the previous 

919
00:38:56,374 --> 00:38:58,597
panel and appreciate them sharing their 

920
00:38:58,597 --> 00:39:00,652
experiences and concerns . I want to 

921
00:39:00,652 --> 00:39:02,874
assure them and this committee that the 

922
00:39:02,874 --> 00:39:04,930
department takes the concerns of our 

923
00:39:04,930 --> 00:39:06,930
military community seriously and we 

924
00:39:06,930 --> 00:39:09,152
including the services are doing all we 

925
00:39:09,152 --> 00:39:11,097
can to provide the health care our 

926
00:39:11,097 --> 00:39:13,152
service members deserve with focus , 

927
00:39:13,152 --> 00:39:15,410
focus and compassion . I was 

928
00:39:15,410 --> 00:39:17,632
particularly moved by the stories about 

929
00:39:17,632 --> 00:39:19,743
the service woman who became pregnant 

930
00:39:19,743 --> 00:39:21,410
as a result of sexual assault 

931
00:39:21,410 --> 00:39:23,466
experiences during their time in the 

932
00:39:23,466 --> 00:39:25,466
military . No one should go through 

933
00:39:25,466 --> 00:39:27,760
what these women experienced . This is 

934
00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:29,593
another demonstration of why the 

935
00:39:29,593 --> 00:39:31,593
department is urgently implementing 

936
00:39:31,593 --> 00:39:33,593
significant organizational cultural 

937
00:39:33,593 --> 00:39:35,590
change to eliminate the scourge of 

938
00:39:35,590 --> 00:39:38,350
sexual assault in our military . What 

939
00:39:38,350 --> 00:39:40,517
these stories very clearly highlighted 

940
00:39:40,517 --> 00:39:42,720
is that we have work to do . We must 

941
00:39:42,720 --> 00:39:44,609
build a system where victims feel 

942
00:39:44,609 --> 00:39:46,831
comfortable coming forward so that they 

943
00:39:46,831 --> 00:39:48,942
can access all the services they need 

944
00:39:48,942 --> 00:39:51,164
and are legally entitled to and victims 

945
00:39:51,164 --> 00:39:53,387
of sexual assault do not need to report 

946
00:39:53,387 --> 00:39:55,331
their assault to the leadership to 

947
00:39:55,331 --> 00:39:57,442
access to care and services including 

948
00:39:57,442 --> 00:39:59,664
abortions . There are many resources to 

949
00:39:59,664 --> 00:40:01,776
help navigate their options . We will 

950
00:40:01,776 --> 00:40:03,942
continue to publicize this information 

951
00:40:03,942 --> 00:40:06,210
as widely as possible and continue to 

952
00:40:06,220 --> 00:40:08,164
professionalize our sexual assault 

953
00:40:08,164 --> 00:40:10,220
response workforce to ensure victims 

954
00:40:10,220 --> 00:40:12,276
are receiving the care they need and 

955
00:40:12,276 --> 00:40:14,860
deserve . Following the Supreme Court's 

956
00:40:14,860 --> 00:40:16,971
ruling , I sent out a department wide 

957
00:40:16,971 --> 00:40:19,138
memo reassuring our service members at 

958
00:40:19,138 --> 00:40:20,971
the department would continue to 

959
00:40:20,971 --> 00:40:23,249
provide federally authorized abortions , 

960
00:40:23,249 --> 00:40:25,138
which we call covered abortions . 

961
00:40:25,138 --> 00:40:27,193
Service members can receive the same 

962
00:40:27,193 --> 00:40:29,416
reproductive health care after Dobbs as 

963
00:40:29,416 --> 00:40:31,138
they did before . The ruling , 

964
00:40:31,138 --> 00:40:33,249
consistent with long existing federal 

965
00:40:33,249 --> 00:40:35,249
law covered abortions . Those cases 

966
00:40:35,249 --> 00:40:37,416
that involve rape , incest or the life 

967
00:40:37,416 --> 00:40:39,582
of the mother would be endangered will 

968
00:40:39,582 --> 00:40:41,416
continue to be authorized to use 

969
00:40:41,416 --> 00:40:43,638
federal funds and facilities . There is 

970
00:40:43,638 --> 00:40:46,050
no interruption to this care . I also 

971
00:40:46,050 --> 00:40:48,217
affirm that our existing policies have 

972
00:40:48,217 --> 00:40:50,580
not changed . For example , our travel 

973
00:40:50,580 --> 00:40:52,747
policies related to health care remain 

974
00:40:52,747 --> 00:40:54,747
the same Service member who require 

975
00:40:54,747 --> 00:40:56,691
require travel to obtain a covered 

976
00:40:56,691 --> 00:40:58,950
abortion may travel an official status 

977
00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:01,510
and are not charged leave . Regular 

978
00:41:01,510 --> 00:41:03,677
leave can be taken for cases involving 

979
00:41:03,677 --> 00:41:06,790
non covered abortion care . The Office 

980
00:41:06,790 --> 00:41:09,012
of Personal Management released similar 

981
00:41:09,012 --> 00:41:11,068
guidance for civilians , reiterating 

982
00:41:11,068 --> 00:41:13,179
that employees may use sick leave and 

983
00:41:13,179 --> 00:41:15,512
other forms of leave for these purposes . 

984
00:41:15,512 --> 00:41:17,734
While our policies have not changed , I 

985
00:41:17,734 --> 00:41:19,846
did acknowledge that complexities and 

986
00:41:19,846 --> 00:41:21,623
challenges posed by the court's 

987
00:41:21,623 --> 00:41:23,679
decision , Dobbs does not affect the 

988
00:41:23,679 --> 00:41:25,512
care we can provide that service 

989
00:41:25,512 --> 00:41:27,457
members are now having to navigate 

990
00:41:27,457 --> 00:41:29,234
additional challenges to access 

991
00:41:29,234 --> 00:41:31,512
essential women's health care services . 

992
00:41:31,512 --> 00:41:33,679
Service members and their families who 

993
00:41:33,679 --> 00:41:35,568
were previously able to make very 

994
00:41:35,568 --> 00:41:37,790
personal decisions about when to have a 

995
00:41:37,790 --> 00:41:39,790
family may now face greater burdens 

996
00:41:39,790 --> 00:41:42,012
depending on where they are stationed . 

997
00:41:42,012 --> 00:41:44,179
They may lead to some wanting to leave 

998
00:41:44,179 --> 00:41:46,290
the military because they didn't want 

999
00:41:46,290 --> 00:41:48,457
to be assigned to a duty station where 

1000
00:41:48,457 --> 00:41:48,250
they cannot access their choice of 

1001
00:41:48,250 --> 00:41:51,480
health care . Other potential impacts 

1002
00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:53,536
include recruitment of women who may 

1003
00:41:53,536 --> 00:41:55,536
have concerns about restrictions to 

1004
00:41:55,536 --> 00:41:57,758
access for reproductive health care and 

1005
00:41:57,758 --> 00:41:59,869
victims of sexual assault , who maybe 

1006
00:41:59,869 --> 00:42:01,647
have added fears of maintaining 

1007
00:42:01,647 --> 00:42:03,869
confidentiality if their only option is 

1008
00:42:03,869 --> 00:42:06,036
to obtain covered abortion through the 

1009
00:42:06,036 --> 00:42:08,258
military health system . These are just 

1010
00:42:08,258 --> 00:42:08,180
some of the complex issues brought on 

1011
00:42:08,180 --> 00:42:10,870
by Dobbs . We understand the very 

1012
00:42:10,870 --> 00:42:12,814
personal nature of how the court's 

1013
00:42:12,814 --> 00:42:14,926
decision impacts families . So we are 

1014
00:42:14,926 --> 00:42:16,870
being very deliberate in analyzing 

1015
00:42:16,870 --> 00:42:19,037
Dobbs with both focus and compassion . 

1016
00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:21,650
We want to make sure we get this right 

1017
00:42:21,660 --> 00:42:23,827
because it impacts access to essential 

1018
00:42:23,827 --> 00:42:25,882
women's health care and reproductive 

1019
00:42:25,882 --> 00:42:28,440
care Chairwoman Spear we know that 

1020
00:42:28,450 --> 00:42:30,672
there is still more work to be done and 

1021
00:42:30,672 --> 00:42:32,894
as we continue to review our policies , 

1022
00:42:32,894 --> 00:42:35,006
I commit to working with you and this 

1023
00:42:35,006 --> 00:42:37,339
committee , just as we have always done . 

1024
00:42:37,339 --> 00:42:39,506
We have we have a solemn obligation to 

1025
00:42:39,506 --> 00:42:41,728
support all those who volunteer to keep 

1026
00:42:41,728 --> 00:42:43,506
our center our country secure , 

1027
00:42:43,506 --> 00:42:45,561
including service members , civilian 

1028
00:42:45,561 --> 00:42:47,617
employees and military families . We 

1029
00:42:47,617 --> 00:42:49,506
pledge to do everything we can to 

1030
00:42:49,506 --> 00:42:51,728
ensure that individuals in our military 

1031
00:42:51,728 --> 00:42:53,950
community are able to access the health 

1032
00:42:53,950 --> 00:42:56,117
care they need . Thank you and we look 

1033
00:42:56,117 --> 00:42:58,228
forward to your questions . Thank you 

1034
00:42:58,228 --> 00:43:00,450
under secretary Mr Mullen . Do you have 

1035
00:43:00,450 --> 00:43:03,300
a statement as well ? All right . Um , 

1036
00:43:03,310 --> 00:43:05,460
I think considering we have a vote on 

1037
00:43:05,460 --> 00:43:08,450
right now , but there's still about 374 

1038
00:43:08,450 --> 00:43:10,450
members who haven't voted . We will 

1039
00:43:10,450 --> 00:43:12,506
start the questioning . I'm going to 

1040
00:43:12,506 --> 00:43:14,810
reserve my questions to the end , so 

1041
00:43:14,820 --> 00:43:17,180
I'm going to recognize the gentleman 

1042
00:43:17,180 --> 00:43:19,270
from New Jersey , Mr Kim for five 

1043
00:43:19,270 --> 00:43:22,800
minutes . Thank you so very much . 

1044
00:43:24,090 --> 00:43:27,670
I know how um , tougher 

1045
00:43:27,670 --> 00:43:29,892
position we're in right now in terms of 

1046
00:43:29,892 --> 00:43:31,948
how we're trying to figure out to be 

1047
00:43:31,948 --> 00:43:33,948
able to provide care to some of the 

1048
00:43:33,948 --> 00:43:36,003
service members . You know , some of 

1049
00:43:36,003 --> 00:43:37,726
the stories we heard today are 

1050
00:43:37,726 --> 00:43:39,892
reflective of what service members are 

1051
00:43:39,892 --> 00:43:42,114
are going through right now . I want to 

1052
00:43:42,114 --> 00:43:44,550
just ask you just what do you need from 

1053
00:43:44,550 --> 00:43:46,439
us , what is it that we should be 

1054
00:43:46,439 --> 00:43:48,650
thinking about here on the hill , um , 

1055
00:43:48,660 --> 00:43:51,580
to be able to try to open this up . You 

1056
00:43:51,580 --> 00:43:53,802
know , I want to be as crystal clear to 

1057
00:43:53,802 --> 00:43:56,024
my colleagues about what's at stake and 

1058
00:43:56,024 --> 00:43:57,969
the role that we play . I know and 

1059
00:43:57,969 --> 00:43:59,802
appreciate what you outlined the 

1060
00:43:59,802 --> 00:44:02,820
notices that you've given to our our 

1061
00:44:02,830 --> 00:44:05,560
our service members right now , um , to 

1062
00:44:05,560 --> 00:44:07,990
the providers . I know that there's 

1063
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:10,167
probably more that you want to be able 

1064
00:44:10,167 --> 00:44:12,333
to do , but you know , you're , you're 

1065
00:44:12,333 --> 00:44:14,640
um , you're gonna need to have us and 

1066
00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:16,807
others to be able to step up to . So I 

1067
00:44:16,807 --> 00:44:18,862
wanted to just kind of give you that 

1068
00:44:18,862 --> 00:44:21,084
opportunity right now from the outset , 

1069
00:44:21,084 --> 00:44:23,140
Uh , thank you , Congressman Kim for 

1070
00:44:23,140 --> 00:44:26,990
that , that question um as it's 

1071
00:44:26,990 --> 00:44:29,060
well known , Dobbs created a lot of 

1072
00:44:29,060 --> 00:44:31,910
complexities as Mr Garamendi , it said 

1073
00:44:31,910 --> 00:44:34,490
earlier , this is like it was 26 now , 

1074
00:44:34,490 --> 00:44:37,160
up to as many as 29 states that we are 

1075
00:44:37,160 --> 00:44:39,271
having to navigate the different laws 

1076
00:44:39,271 --> 00:44:41,493
in each state and to see how it affects 

1077
00:44:41,493 --> 00:44:43,660
our service members in each state . We 

1078
00:44:43,660 --> 00:44:45,860
are currently reviewing our policies 

1079
00:44:45,860 --> 00:44:48,640
and procedures and we are committed to 

1080
00:44:48,650 --> 00:44:52,050
continue to work um with the committee 

1081
00:44:52,060 --> 00:44:54,930
after we finish that process . But the 

1082
00:44:54,940 --> 00:44:58,890
complexity of this issue is really um 

1083
00:44:58,900 --> 00:45:01,040
we need to take the time to go out 

1084
00:45:01,040 --> 00:45:03,690
there to see how each state law affects 

1085
00:45:03,690 --> 00:45:05,730
us and then , as I've stated , were 

1086
00:45:05,730 --> 00:45:07,619
willing to come and work with the 

1087
00:45:07,619 --> 00:45:09,508
committee to see how you can best 

1088
00:45:09,508 --> 00:45:11,674
support us . Thank you , thank you . I 

1089
00:45:11,674 --> 00:45:14,060
hope you take away from this discussion 

1090
00:45:14,060 --> 00:45:16,270
here , that there are many of us here 

1091
00:45:16,270 --> 00:45:18,720
eager and willing to help and we'd like 

1092
00:45:18,720 --> 00:45:20,470
to have continued and robust 

1093
00:45:20,470 --> 00:45:23,060
conversation not just today , but going 

1094
00:45:23,060 --> 00:45:25,282
forward just to make sure that we're on 

1095
00:45:25,282 --> 00:45:27,504
the same page and thinking that through 

1096
00:45:27,504 --> 00:45:29,616
another thing that I wanted to ask is 

1097
00:45:29,616 --> 00:45:29,540
in your statement , you also mentioned 

1098
00:45:29,540 --> 00:45:31,651
that families may experience distress 

1099
00:45:31,651 --> 00:45:34,120
because of these barriers that could 

1100
00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:36,342
inflict emotional harm on those seeking 

1101
00:45:36,342 --> 00:45:39,390
care as well as their families . Uh so 

1102
00:45:39,390 --> 00:45:41,501
I just wanted to make sure that we're 

1103
00:45:41,501 --> 00:45:43,446
being mindful about uh some of the 

1104
00:45:43,446 --> 00:45:45,390
challenges that are being faced in 

1105
00:45:45,390 --> 00:45:47,334
other aspects , especially when it 

1106
00:45:47,334 --> 00:45:49,557
comes to mental health . Um so I wanted 

1107
00:45:49,557 --> 00:45:51,668
to ask if you have been thinking that 

1108
00:45:51,668 --> 00:45:51,350
through and if there are any additional 

1109
00:45:51,350 --> 00:45:53,590
resources needed for behavioral health 

1110
00:45:53,590 --> 00:45:56,450
services um to try to address some of 

1111
00:45:56,450 --> 00:46:00,160
these types of of other uh 

1112
00:46:00,170 --> 00:46:02,230
order effects that are coming from 

1113
00:46:02,230 --> 00:46:04,341
these challenges that service members 

1114
00:46:04,341 --> 00:46:07,020
are facing congressman , you you're 

1115
00:46:07,020 --> 00:46:10,620
right , these um the Dobbs decision not 

1116
00:46:10,620 --> 00:46:12,676
only affects our service members but 

1117
00:46:12,676 --> 00:46:15,240
also their families . Um you know , a 

1118
00:46:15,240 --> 00:46:17,462
service member could have a spouse that 

1119
00:46:17,462 --> 00:46:19,840
that may need to go seek access to uh 

1120
00:46:19,850 --> 00:46:23,790
to the to uh to care outside of a state 

1121
00:46:23,790 --> 00:46:25,846
where this where this type of health 

1122
00:46:25,846 --> 00:46:27,901
care is not permitted . Uh and so it 

1123
00:46:27,901 --> 00:46:30,950
does affect our families and um mental 

1124
00:46:30,950 --> 00:46:33,140
health , behavioral health is an issue 

1125
00:46:33,140 --> 00:46:35,560
that we are very concerned about . The 

1126
00:46:35,570 --> 00:46:37,780
the secretary has said many times that 

1127
00:46:37,790 --> 00:46:39,980
mental health is health and we are 

1128
00:46:39,980 --> 00:46:41,980
continuing to work with our service 

1129
00:46:41,980 --> 00:46:44,036
members and their families to ensure 

1130
00:46:44,036 --> 00:46:46,091
that they get the mental health care 

1131
00:46:46,091 --> 00:46:48,313
that they need uh if any service member 

1132
00:46:48,313 --> 00:46:51,260
um does come and and desires and needs 

1133
00:46:51,260 --> 00:46:54,880
help especially around the this issue . 

1134
00:46:54,890 --> 00:46:58,890
Um Our medical staff is trained to 

1135
00:46:58,890 --> 00:47:01,001
kind of work with them and to kind of 

1136
00:47:01,001 --> 00:47:03,001
ensure that they seek that help and 

1137
00:47:03,001 --> 00:47:05,001
with that . I can turn over to miss 

1138
00:47:05,001 --> 00:47:07,001
mullen who can speak more in detail 

1139
00:47:07,001 --> 00:47:09,001
about that . Uh thank you , I would 

1140
00:47:09,001 --> 00:47:08,940
first like to acknowledge the first 

1141
00:47:08,940 --> 00:47:11,060
witness panel . Um those stories for 

1142
00:47:11,060 --> 00:47:13,730
both from the providers and from the 

1143
00:47:13,740 --> 00:47:15,730
Active duty Service women were 

1144
00:47:15,730 --> 00:47:17,952
compelling and we thank you for sharing 

1145
00:47:17,952 --> 00:47:20,440
their stories with us . Um First two 

1146
00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:23,550
parts um regarding to providers . Um 

1147
00:47:23,560 --> 00:47:26,340
this committee has been very supportive 

1148
00:47:26,350 --> 00:47:29,220
of the increasing behavioral health 

1149
00:47:29,230 --> 00:47:31,750
providers in our system . We have 

1150
00:47:31,760 --> 00:47:33,760
acknowledged that that is something 

1151
00:47:33,760 --> 00:47:35,982
that we are working on and that we have 

1152
00:47:35,982 --> 00:47:38,720
been allowing both additional pay and 

1153
00:47:38,720 --> 00:47:40,831
recruitment activities to try and get 

1154
00:47:40,831 --> 00:47:42,942
more behavioral health providers into 

1155
00:47:42,942 --> 00:47:45,310
our system , both military and civilian . 

1156
00:47:45,320 --> 00:47:49,000
Um Second um any woman going through um 

1157
00:47:49,010 --> 00:47:51,920
counseling for either a covered 

1158
00:47:51,920 --> 00:47:54,540
abortion procedure or any contraceptive 

1159
00:47:54,540 --> 00:47:57,600
care is is always asked or should 

1160
00:47:57,600 --> 00:47:59,656
always be asked what they would like 

1161
00:47:59,656 --> 00:48:01,322
some additional mental health 

1162
00:48:01,322 --> 00:48:03,980
counseling . Thank you . Great , thank 

1163
00:48:03,980 --> 00:48:06,036
you . Well look um we'll continue to 

1164
00:48:06,036 --> 00:48:08,202
work together on this but I appreciate 

1165
00:48:08,202 --> 00:48:10,091
it . With that I yield back , the 

1166
00:48:10,091 --> 00:48:12,313
gentleman yields back . The gentlewoman 

1167
00:48:12,313 --> 00:48:14,536
from texas MS escobar is recognized for 

1168
00:48:14,536 --> 00:48:16,480
five minutes . Thank you so much , 

1169
00:48:16,480 --> 00:48:19,150
madam Chair and many thanks to our 

1170
00:48:19,160 --> 00:48:21,500
panelists here today , mr 

1171
00:48:21,500 --> 00:48:23,667
Undersecretary . It's wonderful to see 

1172
00:48:23,667 --> 00:48:26,430
you again . Um so proud to see you on 

1173
00:48:26,430 --> 00:48:28,960
the other side of the dais . Um and so 

1174
00:48:28,960 --> 00:48:31,127
proud of the work that you are doing . 

1175
00:48:31,127 --> 00:48:33,127
Thank you for coming to my district 

1176
00:48:33,127 --> 00:48:36,110
last week . I was so bummed to not be 

1177
00:48:36,110 --> 00:48:38,300
there with you and and to miss the 

1178
00:48:38,300 --> 00:48:40,770
opportunity to visit with you . Um but 

1179
00:48:40,770 --> 00:48:43,590
again , thanks to both of you and as we 

1180
00:48:43,590 --> 00:48:47,270
heard in the prior panel , the impact 

1181
00:48:47,280 --> 00:48:50,070
is real . The impact of of the Dobbs 

1182
00:48:50,070 --> 00:48:53,910
decision is profound . And I'm not sure 

1183
00:48:53,910 --> 00:48:56,720
if you caught my own opening remarks , 

1184
00:48:56,720 --> 00:48:59,450
but the day that the draft decision was 

1185
00:48:59,450 --> 00:49:01,750
released and this was before the final 

1186
00:49:01,750 --> 00:49:04,470
decision was released , my office 

1187
00:49:04,480 --> 00:49:07,530
received a number of calls from women's 

1188
00:49:07,530 --> 00:49:10,280
service members at Fort Bliss . And the 

1189
00:49:10,280 --> 00:49:12,660
uncertainty that the draft decision 

1190
00:49:12,670 --> 00:49:16,500
brought about was really um 

1191
00:49:16,510 --> 00:49:19,710
challenging for us to navigate . And it 

1192
00:49:19,710 --> 00:49:22,240
was it was deeply troubling . But I 

1193
00:49:22,240 --> 00:49:24,040
think the that now that that 

1194
00:49:24,050 --> 00:49:27,380
uncertainty has sunken in for a lot of 

1195
00:49:27,380 --> 00:49:29,990
women um in all of those in those 

1196
00:49:29,990 --> 00:49:32,820
dozens of States , it is really going 

1197
00:49:32,820 --> 00:49:35,640
to be critical that we provide as much 

1198
00:49:35,650 --> 00:49:38,880
guidance and information and clarity as 

1199
00:49:38,880 --> 00:49:41,220
possible because that that uncertainty 

1200
00:49:41,230 --> 00:49:43,700
is frightening for women . Um so I'd 

1201
00:49:43,700 --> 00:49:45,930
like to ask you all , if you can 

1202
00:49:45,930 --> 00:49:49,540
provide specifics on how you will help 

1203
00:49:49,550 --> 00:49:53,320
female service members navigate um and 

1204
00:49:53,320 --> 00:49:55,410
and understand their rights , 

1205
00:49:55,410 --> 00:49:58,270
understand the information about where 

1206
00:49:58,270 --> 00:50:01,390
they can access care and help . How do 

1207
00:50:01,390 --> 00:50:05,050
we d stigmatize this so that women feel 

1208
00:50:05,050 --> 00:50:08,460
like they have the ability to ask these 

1209
00:50:08,460 --> 00:50:10,349
questions and so that they're not 

1210
00:50:10,349 --> 00:50:13,360
seeking help outside of their military 

1211
00:50:13,360 --> 00:50:16,170
installations , just or not not help , 

1212
00:50:16,180 --> 00:50:19,500
but literally information outside of of 

1213
00:50:19,500 --> 00:50:21,722
their military installation , so really 

1214
00:50:21,722 --> 00:50:23,833
would love to know what you are doing 

1215
00:50:23,833 --> 00:50:26,220
specifically , but what tools really 

1216
00:50:26,220 --> 00:50:27,998
kind of piggybacking on what my 

1217
00:50:27,998 --> 00:50:30,400
colleague Mr kim mentioned what tools 

1218
00:50:30,410 --> 00:50:32,860
do you need from us that could really 

1219
00:50:32,860 --> 00:50:35,570
help you with that while you know , we 

1220
00:50:35,570 --> 00:50:37,790
hopefully seek to create better 

1221
00:50:37,790 --> 00:50:40,240
conditions um in the future . 

1222
00:50:41,670 --> 00:50:43,726
Well , thank you for that question , 

1223
00:50:43,726 --> 00:50:46,310
congresswoman . And um it was it's good 

1224
00:50:46,310 --> 00:50:48,032
to see you again as well . And 

1225
00:50:48,032 --> 00:50:50,143
unfortunately I did miss you . We did 

1226
00:50:50,143 --> 00:50:52,310
miss you in El paso , but it was great 

1227
00:50:52,310 --> 00:50:54,421
to to go down to Fort Bliss and visit 

1228
00:50:54,421 --> 00:50:56,532
with the soldiers down there that are 

1229
00:50:56,532 --> 00:50:56,190
dedicated to serving our country as 

1230
00:50:56,190 --> 00:50:58,412
well as to visit with the people of the 

1231
00:50:58,412 --> 00:51:00,620
great city of El paso . So thank you 

1232
00:51:00,620 --> 00:51:04,570
very much for that . Um You know , one 

1233
00:51:04,570 --> 00:51:06,570
of the reasons that we put out that 

1234
00:51:06,570 --> 00:51:09,850
message on June 28 was to to clarify to 

1235
00:51:09,860 --> 00:51:12,050
our service members across the force 

1236
00:51:12,050 --> 00:51:15,310
that um despite the Dobbs decision that 

1237
00:51:15,310 --> 00:51:18,000
we will continue to perform the covered 

1238
00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:20,450
abortions as we are legally able to do , 

1239
00:51:20,460 --> 00:51:22,571
which is in the case of incest , rape 

1240
00:51:22,571 --> 00:51:24,682
or endangers the life of the mother . 

1241
00:51:24,810 --> 00:51:27,530
And we wanted it to be known that this 

1242
00:51:27,530 --> 00:51:29,530
decision will not affect the health 

1243
00:51:29,530 --> 00:51:31,752
care that we provide at R . M . T . F . 

1244
00:51:31,752 --> 00:51:33,863
S . We also sent out a second message 

1245
00:51:33,863 --> 00:51:35,863
to our health care providers to let 

1246
00:51:35,863 --> 00:51:37,830
them know that they are able to , 

1247
00:51:37,840 --> 00:51:39,951
despite this decision , they are able 

1248
00:51:39,951 --> 00:51:42,250
to continue to provide the health care 

1249
00:51:42,260 --> 00:51:44,280
that they were able to provide pre 

1250
00:51:44,280 --> 00:51:46,280
dobbs on R . M . T . F . S . And it 

1251
00:51:46,280 --> 00:51:49,240
will not affect them and and uh as long 

1252
00:51:49,240 --> 00:51:51,351
as they're doing their job performing 

1253
00:51:51,351 --> 00:51:53,518
it in a in a in a federal status which 

1254
00:51:53,518 --> 00:51:55,740
they are because they're on working for 

1255
00:51:55,740 --> 00:51:57,660
the US military and and a federal 

1256
00:51:57,670 --> 00:52:00,130
installation that will not affect the 

1257
00:52:00,130 --> 00:52:02,297
job that they can perform . So we felt 

1258
00:52:02,297 --> 00:52:04,700
it was important to get that out . Um 

1259
00:52:04,710 --> 00:52:06,766
And we will continue to message with 

1260
00:52:06,766 --> 00:52:08,970
the force as I said earlier . You know 

1261
00:52:08,980 --> 00:52:12,130
this dobbs decision is very complex . 

1262
00:52:12,140 --> 00:52:14,780
Uh Each state is creating their own 

1263
00:52:14,780 --> 00:52:18,020
laws uh and policies and so we are 

1264
00:52:18,020 --> 00:52:21,000
looking how it is affecting each state 

1265
00:52:21,010 --> 00:52:23,640
is affecting us and and we want to make 

1266
00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:25,696
sure that when we come , as I said , 

1267
00:52:25,696 --> 00:52:27,751
you know , we are willing we want to 

1268
00:52:27,751 --> 00:52:29,918
work with the committee but we want to 

1269
00:52:29,918 --> 00:52:32,140
make sure we're getting it right uh and 

1270
00:52:32,140 --> 00:52:34,140
taking time to study this before we 

1271
00:52:34,140 --> 00:52:36,473
come to you with with us . So thank you . 

1272
00:52:36,473 --> 00:52:38,584
Well please count on on us especially 

1273
00:52:38,584 --> 00:52:40,751
this committee under the leadership of 

1274
00:52:40,751 --> 00:52:42,973
chairwoman Spear for what you need . We 

1275
00:52:42,973 --> 00:52:45,196
really we want to make sure that we are 

1276
00:52:45,196 --> 00:52:47,362
as helpful to our service members . Um 

1277
00:52:47,362 --> 00:52:49,584
because we are all very concerned about 

1278
00:52:49,584 --> 00:52:51,918
retention and recruitment and readiness . 

1279
00:52:51,918 --> 00:52:54,029
Thank you madam . Chair . You'll beck 

1280
00:52:54,029 --> 00:52:55,918
the gentlewoman yields back . The 

1281
00:52:55,918 --> 00:52:57,640
gentlewoman from California is 

1282
00:52:57,640 --> 00:52:59,862
recognized for five minutes . Thank you 

1283
00:52:59,862 --> 00:52:59,590
madam Chair and thank you to our 

1284
00:52:59,590 --> 00:53:02,300
witnesses . Um Mr Undersecretary . It's 

1285
00:53:02,300 --> 00:53:05,450
great to see you again . Um In our last 

1286
00:53:05,450 --> 00:53:09,180
panel we heard that there are not 

1287
00:53:09,180 --> 00:53:11,520
currently enough O . B . G . Y . N . S . 

1288
00:53:11,530 --> 00:53:15,390
In the military health care system to 

1289
00:53:15,400 --> 00:53:18,590
treat every person of reproductive age 

1290
00:53:18,590 --> 00:53:21,940
who would need that care . Um We also 

1291
00:53:21,940 --> 00:53:24,180
heard that there was not enough to even 

1292
00:53:24,180 --> 00:53:26,380
do the abortions that are currently 

1293
00:53:26,380 --> 00:53:29,670
covered and allowed under law . Um So I 

1294
00:53:29,670 --> 00:53:32,880
was wondering what you're doing to make 

1295
00:53:32,880 --> 00:53:35,420
sure that our service members are 

1296
00:53:35,420 --> 00:53:38,130
getting their health care . I mean I'm 

1297
00:53:38,130 --> 00:53:40,352
a I'm a young woman myself and for many 

1298
00:53:40,352 --> 00:53:42,408
years my O . B . G . Y . N . Was the 

1299
00:53:42,408 --> 00:53:44,860
only doctor I went to um and if that's 

1300
00:53:44,860 --> 00:53:47,270
not care that's available for our 

1301
00:53:47,270 --> 00:53:49,548
service members in military facilities , 

1302
00:53:49,548 --> 00:53:51,548
that's deeply problematic . So what 

1303
00:53:51,548 --> 00:53:53,790
you're going to make sure that uh that 

1304
00:53:53,800 --> 00:53:56,240
we have enough O . B . G . Y . N . That 

1305
00:53:56,250 --> 00:53:58,470
um covered abortions at military 

1306
00:53:58,470 --> 00:54:00,740
facilities will continue uninterrupted 

1307
00:54:00,750 --> 00:54:04,050
even in states where abortion is being 

1308
00:54:04,050 --> 00:54:07,680
criminalized and uh to ensure that 

1309
00:54:07,690 --> 00:54:09,579
those O . B . G . Y . N . S . And 

1310
00:54:09,579 --> 00:54:12,630
military personnel are trained so that 

1311
00:54:12,630 --> 00:54:14,297
we can have the full range of 

1312
00:54:14,297 --> 00:54:16,519
contraceptive methods including I . U . 

1313
00:54:16,519 --> 00:54:18,310
D . S . Well , thank you , 

1314
00:54:18,310 --> 00:54:20,366
congresswoman , it's good to see you 

1315
00:54:20,366 --> 00:54:22,421
again as well . Um as a secretary of 

1316
00:54:22,421 --> 00:54:24,532
State ID . Uh Secretary Austin stated 

1317
00:54:24,532 --> 00:54:26,930
many times , taking care of our people 

1318
00:54:26,940 --> 00:54:29,700
is our top priority and part of that of 

1319
00:54:29,700 --> 00:54:31,811
taking care of our people is ensuring 

1320
00:54:31,811 --> 00:54:34,220
that they have access to essential 

1321
00:54:34,220 --> 00:54:36,276
health care that that we are able to 

1322
00:54:36,276 --> 00:54:38,498
provide them and providing it to them . 

1323
00:54:38,498 --> 00:54:41,470
Um at the best the best quality health 

1324
00:54:41,470 --> 00:54:45,020
care out there available . Um there 

1325
00:54:45,020 --> 00:54:47,131
are , you know , it is essential that 

1326
00:54:47,131 --> 00:54:49,187
we have our physicians there . There 

1327
00:54:49,187 --> 00:54:51,242
are of course , you know shortages , 

1328
00:54:51,242 --> 00:54:52,909
there's a shortage of doctors 

1329
00:54:52,909 --> 00:54:55,076
nationwide . Uh that's no different in 

1330
00:54:55,076 --> 00:54:57,298
the military , but we are doing what we 

1331
00:54:57,298 --> 00:54:59,353
can to make sure that we have access 

1332
00:54:59,353 --> 00:55:01,520
that every service member when they go 

1333
00:55:01,520 --> 00:55:03,798
out and when they come to an M . T . F . 

1334
00:55:03,798 --> 00:55:05,798
That they are seeking health care , 

1335
00:55:05,798 --> 00:55:05,430
that they will get the best quality 

1336
00:55:05,430 --> 00:55:07,652
health care that they can . With that I 

1337
00:55:07,652 --> 00:55:09,874
can turn it over to Mr Bull and you can 

1338
00:55:09,874 --> 00:55:12,097
go into greater detail . Um Thank you . 

1339
00:55:12,097 --> 00:55:14,430
Um Each of our M . T . S are staffed by 

1340
00:55:14,430 --> 00:55:16,880
both military and civilian providers 

1341
00:55:16,890 --> 00:55:19,090
and who are able to deliver 

1342
00:55:19,100 --> 00:55:21,267
reproductive care to to all of our men 

1343
00:55:21,267 --> 00:55:24,270
and women . Um Oftentimes um that 

1344
00:55:24,270 --> 00:55:26,326
specialty care that they are seeking 

1345
00:55:26,326 --> 00:55:28,548
may not be available at the M . T . F . 

1346
00:55:28,548 --> 00:55:30,659
But as you know , the Tricare network 

1347
00:55:30,659 --> 00:55:32,381
which is a private sector care 

1348
00:55:32,381 --> 00:55:34,437
integrated network across the United 

1349
00:55:34,437 --> 00:55:36,270
States . Um they will be able to 

1350
00:55:36,270 --> 00:55:38,480
provide that care in our network . Um 

1351
00:55:38,490 --> 00:55:40,850
Every woman will have that ability to 

1352
00:55:40,850 --> 00:55:43,080
get the care that they need either the 

1353
00:55:43,080 --> 00:55:45,210
M . T . F . Or in our network . But 

1354
00:55:45,210 --> 00:55:47,430
also like to say that this week under 

1355
00:55:47,430 --> 00:55:49,750
Mr . C . Scenarios guidance . Um We 

1356
00:55:49,750 --> 00:55:52,400
have expanded , we have military 

1357
00:55:52,400 --> 00:55:54,622
treatment contraceptive clinics walk in 

1358
00:55:54,622 --> 00:55:57,180
clinics . We've had that a bit across 

1359
00:55:57,180 --> 00:55:59,291
the United States with 18 . We're now 

1360
00:55:59,291 --> 00:56:01,513
expanding that to all of our MTs . So a 

1361
00:56:01,513 --> 00:56:03,600
woman or a man could come up get 

1362
00:56:03,600 --> 00:56:05,100
counseling and decide what 

1363
00:56:05,100 --> 00:56:07,211
contraceptive they need um That day . 

1364
00:56:07,710 --> 00:56:09,880
Thank you . And would they be able to 

1365
00:56:09,880 --> 00:56:12,110
access uh I . U . D . S . And other . 

1366
00:56:12,120 --> 00:56:14,790
Absolutely . Absolutely . Yes . Yes 

1367
00:56:14,800 --> 00:56:17,880
with that I also state around I . U . D . 

1368
00:56:17,880 --> 00:56:20,410
S . As we are currently um updating our 

1369
00:56:20,410 --> 00:56:23,450
policies so that service members and 

1370
00:56:23,450 --> 00:56:25,617
their families will be able to receive 

1371
00:56:25,617 --> 00:56:27,506
those I . U . D . S . Through the 

1372
00:56:27,506 --> 00:56:30,840
tricare health care system um Without 

1373
00:56:30,840 --> 00:56:32,673
having to pay a copay . Which is 

1374
00:56:32,673 --> 00:56:34,618
currently the thing right now . So 

1375
00:56:34,618 --> 00:56:36,729
we're changing our policy updating it 

1376
00:56:36,729 --> 00:56:38,784
so that the copay will be eliminated 

1377
00:56:38,784 --> 00:56:40,951
with that . And the other thing I will 

1378
00:56:40,951 --> 00:56:43,280
mention too um around contraceptives is 

1379
00:56:43,290 --> 00:56:46,740
um currently at our boot camps when 

1380
00:56:46,750 --> 00:56:49,130
women come into boot camp they do see 

1381
00:56:49,140 --> 00:56:52,130
receive a woman's health exam . Um Were 

1382
00:56:52,130 --> 00:56:54,186
they asked about contraceptives ? Um 

1383
00:56:54,186 --> 00:56:56,186
are they currently taking them ? Do 

1384
00:56:56,186 --> 00:56:58,408
they like their current contraceptive ? 

1385
00:56:58,408 --> 00:57:00,620
Would they prefer an I . U . D . Um So 

1386
00:57:00,630 --> 00:57:03,620
contraceptives is ensuring the that's 

1387
00:57:03,630 --> 00:57:05,797
that's women's health care and we want 

1388
00:57:05,797 --> 00:57:08,019
to ensure that that our service members 

1389
00:57:08,019 --> 00:57:10,830
have access to that health care . Um 

1390
00:57:10,840 --> 00:57:13,070
Thank you . Um With that madam terra 

1391
00:57:13,070 --> 00:57:15,400
yield back , gentlewoman yields back . 

1392
00:57:15,410 --> 00:57:17,560
Uh The gentleman from California . Mr 

1393
00:57:17,560 --> 00:57:19,393
Garamendi is recognized for five 

1394
00:57:19,393 --> 00:57:21,990
minutes . There are 225 members not 

1395
00:57:21,990 --> 00:57:25,690
voting including us including 

1396
00:57:25,690 --> 00:57:28,850
us . Thank you Madam Chair . 

1397
00:57:29,400 --> 00:57:33,060
Um I was about to say 

1398
00:57:33,060 --> 00:57:36,800
gil that would be improper . Not at all 

1399
00:57:36,800 --> 00:57:39,930
sir . Not at all . I'm delighted to see 

1400
00:57:39,930 --> 00:57:42,020
you in your position . I'm even more 

1401
00:57:42,020 --> 00:57:44,298
delighted to hear your testimony today . 

1402
00:57:44,840 --> 00:57:48,170
You are taking strong steps 

1403
00:57:49,120 --> 00:57:51,330
not only on this specific issue of 

1404
00:57:51,330 --> 00:57:53,441
abortion but on women's health care . 

1405
00:57:54,140 --> 00:57:56,280
The testimony you've given thus far 

1406
00:57:56,290 --> 00:57:58,179
would indicate that you intend to 

1407
00:57:58,179 --> 00:58:00,620
continue with that as chairman of the 

1408
00:58:00,620 --> 00:58:02,730
readiness subcommittee together with 

1409
00:58:02,740 --> 00:58:06,030
Miss Spear . Um we're deeply concerned 

1410
00:58:06,960 --> 00:58:10,690
about this entire issue of women in the 

1411
00:58:10,690 --> 00:58:13,760
military and the issues 

1412
00:58:13,770 --> 00:58:16,800
surrounding their safety . 

1413
00:58:17,620 --> 00:58:21,190
Uh and MS . Spears led us very adroitly 

1414
00:58:21,190 --> 00:58:24,090
in the years she's been chairman of the 

1415
00:58:24,100 --> 00:58:27,220
committee uh personnel committee in 

1416
00:58:27,220 --> 00:58:29,910
dealing with sexual assault and other 

1417
00:58:29,910 --> 00:58:33,730
issues . We note your desire to 

1418
00:58:33,730 --> 00:58:35,952
deal with that issue also and thank you 

1419
00:58:35,952 --> 00:58:38,980
for that . And now we have the abortion 

1420
00:58:38,980 --> 00:58:41,900
issue on to even further 

1421
00:58:41,900 --> 00:58:44,750
compound that situation . 

1422
00:58:45,530 --> 00:58:47,830
My concern here is the overall 

1423
00:58:47,830 --> 00:58:51,700
readiness of our military . We do rely 

1424
00:58:51,710 --> 00:58:54,320
increasingly and appropriately on women 

1425
00:58:54,330 --> 00:58:56,710
in the military . I hope that continues . 

1426
00:58:56,720 --> 00:58:58,870
I am concerned that this issue of 

1427
00:58:58,870 --> 00:59:02,060
abortion may cause some women to 

1428
00:59:02,060 --> 00:59:04,250
rethink and to think that they should 

1429
00:59:04,250 --> 00:59:07,030
not be in the military . Uh So my 

1430
00:59:07,030 --> 00:59:09,460
question to you is I'd like to hear 

1431
00:59:09,470 --> 00:59:12,720
your view on . Do you anticipate 

1432
00:59:13,390 --> 00:59:15,470
the Dobbs decision 

1433
00:59:16,240 --> 00:59:19,910
to reduce the readiness of our 

1434
00:59:19,910 --> 00:59:23,770
military and if so how might it 

1435
00:59:23,780 --> 00:59:27,310
do ? And what should we do if that is 

1436
00:59:27,310 --> 00:59:30,760
the case ? Well , thank you Congressman 

1437
00:59:30,760 --> 00:59:33,150
Garamendi . Um , it's a pleasure to see 

1438
00:59:33,150 --> 00:59:35,430
you again . I hope you and your , your 

1439
00:59:35,430 --> 00:59:38,130
family are doing well . Um , it , 

1440
00:59:38,650 --> 00:59:41,300
you know , readiness is a big concern 

1441
00:59:41,300 --> 00:59:43,411
of ours and of course readiness , You 

1442
00:59:43,411 --> 00:59:46,020
know , the , the individual health care 

1443
00:59:46,030 --> 00:59:48,480
of our service members is readiness . 

1444
00:59:48,490 --> 00:59:50,657
As many other things that we take into 

1445
00:59:50,657 --> 00:59:52,768
consideration as the readiness of our 

1446
00:59:52,768 --> 00:59:54,879
force . Uh , if they're not healthy , 

1447
00:59:54,879 --> 00:59:56,879
they won't be able to perform their 

1448
00:59:56,879 --> 01:00:00,010
duties . Um , I don't want to say it's 

1449
01:00:00,010 --> 01:00:02,066
gonna affect readiness , but it is a 

1450
01:00:02,066 --> 01:00:04,630
concern that we have . Um , you know , 

1451
01:00:04,630 --> 01:00:06,741
as you heard in the last panel , um , 

1452
01:00:06,741 --> 01:00:08,852
one of the , uh , I think that one of 

1453
01:00:08,852 --> 01:00:11,550
the majors had said that if , if she 

1454
01:00:11,550 --> 01:00:13,606
wasn't able to get the abortion when 

1455
01:00:13,606 --> 01:00:15,828
she was an E three , she probably would 

1456
01:00:15,828 --> 01:00:17,994
not have stayed in the military . Um , 

1457
01:00:17,994 --> 01:00:20,161
you know , retention is also a concern 

1458
01:00:20,161 --> 01:00:22,850
that we have , um , you know , as , as 

1459
01:00:22,860 --> 01:00:24,890
MS escobar stated like she's heard 

1460
01:00:24,890 --> 01:00:26,834
numerous calls from , from service 

1461
01:00:26,834 --> 01:00:29,057
woman , we've heard those two coming in 

1462
01:00:29,057 --> 01:00:31,057
from , from service members who are 

1463
01:00:31,057 --> 01:00:33,530
concerned about , um , how this , how 

1464
01:00:33,530 --> 01:00:35,752
this decision is going to affect them . 

1465
01:00:35,752 --> 01:00:39,040
Um , you know , we are working , uh , 

1466
01:00:39,050 --> 01:00:41,870
it is essential for the , uh , the 

1467
01:00:41,870 --> 01:00:44,460
survivability of our force that we 

1468
01:00:44,460 --> 01:00:47,750
become more diverse . Um , women are a 

1469
01:00:47,750 --> 01:00:50,240
big part of that . Uh , you know , 

1470
01:00:50,240 --> 01:00:52,296
having a conversation I recently had 

1471
01:00:52,296 --> 01:00:54,351
with the Secretary of the Navy is is 

1472
01:00:54,351 --> 01:00:56,351
that we need more women to join our 

1473
01:00:56,351 --> 01:00:58,407
Navy . Um and that is essential . Uh 

1474
01:00:58,407 --> 01:01:00,800
and they will make us more inclusive . 

1475
01:01:00,810 --> 01:01:02,810
They will make us a more lethal and 

1476
01:01:02,810 --> 01:01:05,300
better fighting force . Uh and we need 

1477
01:01:05,300 --> 01:01:08,080
them to join our military . And so um 

1478
01:01:08,360 --> 01:01:11,220
you know , we know that this decision 

1479
01:01:11,220 --> 01:01:13,930
is going to have some type of impact as 

1480
01:01:13,940 --> 01:01:17,220
um the major major Arana said . 

1481
01:01:17,230 --> 01:01:20,210
Um and and major Mazzello as 

1482
01:01:20,220 --> 01:01:23,020
they speak proudly of their military 

1483
01:01:23,020 --> 01:01:26,150
service . Um They encourage , you know , 

1484
01:01:26,150 --> 01:01:28,430
young women to join . Uh and I hope 

1485
01:01:28,430 --> 01:01:31,190
they continue to do that . But I I know 

1486
01:01:31,190 --> 01:01:33,357
and I know they will because they said 

1487
01:01:33,357 --> 01:01:35,523
they will . But um you know , to think 

1488
01:01:35,523 --> 01:01:37,523
that some woman may not think twice 

1489
01:01:37,523 --> 01:01:39,690
before joining the military because of 

1490
01:01:39,690 --> 01:01:41,857
the Dobbs decision . It's definitely a 

1491
01:01:41,857 --> 01:01:44,600
concern , sir . I would ask that you 

1492
01:01:44,600 --> 01:01:48,120
monitor this , provide the statistical 

1493
01:01:48,120 --> 01:01:50,400
analysis uh and um 

1494
01:01:53,890 --> 01:01:57,840
return to us any information that you 

1495
01:01:57,840 --> 01:02:01,350
might receive and develop on the 

1496
01:02:01,360 --> 01:02:04,900
impact of the the Dobbs decision 

1497
01:02:04,910 --> 01:02:08,760
and the 131 installations 

1498
01:02:08,770 --> 01:02:11,900
that are in states that are restricting 

1499
01:02:11,900 --> 01:02:14,940
abortions . And with that information 

1500
01:02:14,940 --> 01:02:18,300
it may provide additional motivation 

1501
01:02:18,300 --> 01:02:20,960
for the Congress and particularly our 

1502
01:02:20,960 --> 01:02:23,970
committees to provide the necessary 

1503
01:02:23,970 --> 01:02:26,250
support that women need . Thank you so 

1504
01:02:26,250 --> 01:02:27,750
very much . I yield back , 

1505
01:02:29,980 --> 01:02:32,091
Gentleman yields back the gentlewoman 

1506
01:02:32,091 --> 01:02:35,430
from um texas . Miss Garcia is 

1507
01:02:35,430 --> 01:02:37,652
recognized for five minutes . Thank you 

1508
01:02:37,652 --> 01:02:39,541
madam Chair and and uh welcome mr 

1509
01:02:39,541 --> 01:02:41,597
Secretary . It's really great to see 

1510
01:02:41,597 --> 01:02:43,763
you and always remember you as part of 

1511
01:02:43,763 --> 01:02:46,570
our freshman class . Uh we can't we had 

1512
01:02:46,570 --> 01:02:49,040
some good times and now you're on to 

1513
01:02:49,050 --> 01:02:51,780
greener pastures as they say . But 

1514
01:02:51,790 --> 01:02:54,012
thank you for your presentation . And I 

1515
01:02:54,012 --> 01:02:56,179
think for us it's a you know , we know 

1516
01:02:56,179 --> 01:02:58,580
our brave service members have defended 

1517
01:02:58,580 --> 01:03:01,070
our freedoms uh , and its elected 

1518
01:03:01,070 --> 01:03:03,292
members of Congress , it's now up to us 

1519
01:03:03,292 --> 01:03:05,810
to defend theirs and for the women . 

1520
01:03:05,810 --> 01:03:07,810
Service members that includes their 

1521
01:03:07,810 --> 01:03:10,070
freedom to decide their own healthcare 

1522
01:03:10,080 --> 01:03:13,830
decisions . Um , my question is sort of 

1523
01:03:13,830 --> 01:03:17,780
a broader question of I 

1524
01:03:17,780 --> 01:03:20,500
have visited some some installations , 

1525
01:03:20,510 --> 01:03:23,190
um different branches , especially many 

1526
01:03:23,190 --> 01:03:25,690
Air Force Air Forces . My family is 

1527
01:03:25,690 --> 01:03:28,660
more Air force than anything else . And 

1528
01:03:28,660 --> 01:03:32,650
it's always struck me that the services 

1529
01:03:32,650 --> 01:03:34,872
that are provided to service members of 

1530
01:03:34,872 --> 01:03:36,817
the different installations aren't 

1531
01:03:36,817 --> 01:03:38,928
always the same . So when it comes to 

1532
01:03:38,928 --> 01:03:40,983
health care , I think it's important 

1533
01:03:40,983 --> 01:03:43,230
that there be as much uniformity and as 

1534
01:03:43,230 --> 01:03:45,640
much access as possible at every 

1535
01:03:45,640 --> 01:03:48,100
installation . So what what are we 

1536
01:03:48,100 --> 01:03:50,950
doing to make sure that the the 

1537
01:03:50,960 --> 01:03:54,140
healthcare access is 

1538
01:03:54,140 --> 01:03:57,290
comprehensive but also uniform 

1539
01:03:57,300 --> 01:03:59,022
throughout the installations , 

1540
01:03:59,022 --> 01:04:01,990
particularly in the 131 that have been 

1541
01:04:01,990 --> 01:04:03,990
mentioned by by others as being in 

1542
01:04:03,990 --> 01:04:07,310
state set that have bans on abortion or 

1543
01:04:07,310 --> 01:04:09,254
some abortion restrictions at some 

1544
01:04:09,254 --> 01:04:13,150
level , ma'am , you 

1545
01:04:13,150 --> 01:04:16,720
know , as I stated earlier that taking 

1546
01:04:16,720 --> 01:04:18,942
care of our people in the Department of 

1547
01:04:18,942 --> 01:04:20,998
Defense is our biggest priority , uh 

1548
01:04:20,998 --> 01:04:23,080
ensuring that they have access to 

1549
01:04:23,090 --> 01:04:25,540
quality health care is something that 

1550
01:04:25,540 --> 01:04:27,762
we think about I think about on a daily 

1551
01:04:27,762 --> 01:04:29,818
basis and we want to ensure that all 

1552
01:04:29,818 --> 01:04:31,596
our service members have access 

1553
01:04:31,596 --> 01:04:34,590
throughout the uh throughout the M . T . 

1554
01:04:34,590 --> 01:04:36,810
S all over the country in the world 

1555
01:04:36,820 --> 01:04:38,931
that we are legally able to provide . 

1556
01:04:39,000 --> 01:04:41,167
We will continue to do that and ensure 

1557
01:04:41,167 --> 01:04:44,940
that it is granted um equally out 

1558
01:04:44,940 --> 01:04:47,051
there . I mean there will always be , 

1559
01:04:47,051 --> 01:04:49,660
there will always be instances where um 

1560
01:04:49,670 --> 01:04:51,559
you know , there may be a smaller 

1561
01:04:51,559 --> 01:04:53,670
number of service members in one area 

1562
01:04:53,750 --> 01:04:55,806
compared to like an area such as san 

1563
01:04:55,806 --> 01:04:59,110
Antonio where there's a large number of 

1564
01:04:59,110 --> 01:05:01,430
service members . So the the access 

1565
01:05:01,430 --> 01:05:03,597
what's gonna be available , it's going 

1566
01:05:03,597 --> 01:05:05,819
to be greater in those larger areas and 

1567
01:05:05,819 --> 01:05:07,874
then the smaller ones , but in those 

1568
01:05:07,874 --> 01:05:10,000
situations where a service member may 

1569
01:05:10,000 --> 01:05:12,430
be serving remotely , they are provided 

1570
01:05:12,430 --> 01:05:14,541
tricare access to their to where they 

1571
01:05:14,541 --> 01:05:16,708
can get health care through tricare to 

1572
01:05:16,708 --> 01:05:18,763
ensure that they are still receiving 

1573
01:05:18,763 --> 01:05:20,819
quality health care with that , I'll 

1574
01:05:20,819 --> 01:05:20,330
turn over to Miss mullen , she she has 

1575
01:05:20,330 --> 01:05:23,110
anything else to add thank you . Um as 

1576
01:05:23,110 --> 01:05:25,110
you know , um we have a statutorily 

1577
01:05:25,110 --> 01:05:28,270
defined benefit which is incredibly 

1578
01:05:28,280 --> 01:05:30,890
very comprehensive , so when we're very 

1579
01:05:30,890 --> 01:05:33,890
proud of that um Second um this week 

1580
01:05:33,890 --> 01:05:36,670
under Mr Cisneros direction we set up a 

1581
01:05:36,680 --> 01:05:39,290
dedicated women's health page um as we 

1582
01:05:39,290 --> 01:05:41,457
heard from the witnesses ahead of us . 

1583
01:05:41,457 --> 01:05:44,220
Um clearly we need to do a better job 

1584
01:05:44,230 --> 01:05:46,680
of you know disseminating information , 

1585
01:05:46,730 --> 01:05:49,900
communicating and educating both our 

1586
01:05:49,900 --> 01:05:51,678
beneficiaries are providers and 

1587
01:05:51,678 --> 01:05:54,011
everybody in the military health system . 

1588
01:05:54,011 --> 01:05:56,011
So we're really hoping that this um 

1589
01:05:56,011 --> 01:05:58,600
women's health page will be a one stop 

1590
01:05:58,600 --> 01:06:00,860
shop where a lot of women can go to 

1591
01:06:00,860 --> 01:06:02,971
make sure that they can actually know 

1592
01:06:02,971 --> 01:06:05,082
what their benefits are . Great . And 

1593
01:06:05,082 --> 01:06:07,027
mr Secretary you mentioned in your 

1594
01:06:07,027 --> 01:06:08,860
opening remarks that that you're 

1595
01:06:08,860 --> 01:06:11,430
reviewing all your policies . Uh and 

1596
01:06:11,430 --> 01:06:14,120
that one of them was to ensure that 

1597
01:06:14,130 --> 01:06:16,320
people have women have to travel . 

1598
01:06:16,320 --> 01:06:18,720
Service members have to travel uh to 

1599
01:06:18,720 --> 01:06:21,620
another state uh to get any any 

1600
01:06:21,630 --> 01:06:23,740
reproductive health care that they 

1601
01:06:23,740 --> 01:06:25,684
would be able to do so on official 

1602
01:06:25,684 --> 01:06:27,907
status . Is that what I heard you say , 

1603
01:06:27,907 --> 01:06:31,670
sir ? Yeah , if if a service member is 

1604
01:06:31,680 --> 01:06:34,300
covered during for covered abortions . 

1605
01:06:34,300 --> 01:06:36,520
A service member , we will provide 

1606
01:06:36,530 --> 01:06:38,980
transportation cost for that service 

1607
01:06:38,980 --> 01:06:42,010
member . If if for whatever reason they 

1608
01:06:42,010 --> 01:06:44,177
can't get that where they're currently 

1609
01:06:44,177 --> 01:06:46,232
stationed , we will ensure that they 

1610
01:06:46,232 --> 01:06:48,740
get that care and will will allow them 

1611
01:06:48,740 --> 01:06:50,970
to travel at cost as well as provide 

1612
01:06:50,970 --> 01:06:53,081
the procedure for covered abortions . 

1613
01:06:53,081 --> 01:06:55,192
But will they have to take their time 

1614
01:06:55,192 --> 01:06:57,359
off of their own personal time covered 

1615
01:06:57,359 --> 01:06:59,526
abortions is what's critical here . So 

1616
01:06:59,526 --> 01:07:01,850
only for rape incest and life of the 

1617
01:07:01,850 --> 01:07:03,850
mother . Will they cover the cost ? 

1618
01:07:03,850 --> 01:07:06,220
Okay for covered abortions ? No , they 

1619
01:07:06,220 --> 01:07:08,220
will not have to take time off take 

1620
01:07:08,220 --> 01:07:10,220
leave for that . That'll be covered 

1621
01:07:10,220 --> 01:07:12,109
through through the Department of 

1622
01:07:12,109 --> 01:07:14,331
Defense . Okay , well thank you again . 

1623
01:07:14,331 --> 01:07:16,387
Those are the questions I have Madam 

1624
01:07:16,387 --> 01:07:18,442
chair and I yield back , gentlewoman 

1625
01:07:18,442 --> 01:07:21,810
yields back and there are 97 members 

1626
01:07:21,810 --> 01:07:24,120
who have not yet voted . I'm going to 

1627
01:07:24,130 --> 01:07:27,110
ask my final questions and we will then 

1628
01:07:27,110 --> 01:07:29,320
close the hearing because um Mr 

1629
01:07:29,320 --> 01:07:32,740
Gallagher has um other commitments as 

1630
01:07:32,740 --> 01:07:35,050
well . So I want to thank you again , 

1631
01:07:35,200 --> 01:07:38,480
undersecretary for being here . Um I 

1632
01:07:38,490 --> 01:07:41,030
remember you also fondly when you you 

1633
01:07:41,030 --> 01:07:44,180
served on the subcommittee as well . Um 

1634
01:07:44,190 --> 01:07:46,190
There are a couple of things that I 

1635
01:07:46,190 --> 01:07:48,412
think we really need to to delve into . 

1636
01:07:48,412 --> 01:07:51,910
So um one is a more robust 

1637
01:07:51,910 --> 01:07:55,770
contraception education program 

1638
01:07:55,780 --> 01:07:58,250
within the military . So will you 

1639
01:07:58,250 --> 01:08:01,000
commit to building up that 

1640
01:08:01,010 --> 01:08:03,100
contraception education so that 

1641
01:08:03,110 --> 01:08:04,999
military service members know the 

1642
01:08:04,999 --> 01:08:06,630
difference between all the 

1643
01:08:06,630 --> 01:08:09,320
contraceptions are available and the 

1644
01:08:09,320 --> 01:08:11,750
plan B which is often referred to as 

1645
01:08:11,750 --> 01:08:13,472
the morning after pill , which 

1646
01:08:13,472 --> 01:08:15,694
sometimes um and even on this committee 

1647
01:08:15,694 --> 01:08:19,330
has um inappropriately been considered 

1648
01:08:19,330 --> 01:08:21,497
to be an order facial , which it truly 

1649
01:08:21,497 --> 01:08:25,250
is not . Yes , ma'am , 

1650
01:08:26,280 --> 01:08:29,520
it's my time here serving with you 

1651
01:08:29,520 --> 01:08:31,631
fondly on this committee . I think of 

1652
01:08:31,631 --> 01:08:33,631
that very fondly too . So thank you 

1653
01:08:33,631 --> 01:08:35,798
very much for your kind comments . But 

1654
01:08:35,798 --> 01:08:38,020
uh you know , as I said Ma'am earlier , 

1655
01:08:38,020 --> 01:08:40,076
currently in the boot camps , we are 

1656
01:08:40,076 --> 01:08:41,964
providing that education with the 

1657
01:08:41,964 --> 01:08:41,810
women's wellness exams . Talking to 

1658
01:08:41,810 --> 01:08:43,977
them about contraceptives , explaining 

1659
01:08:43,977 --> 01:08:46,199
the different types of contraceptives . 

1660
01:08:46,199 --> 01:08:48,254
Um You know , seeing if they want to 

1661
01:08:48,254 --> 01:08:50,143
change if they like their current 

1662
01:08:50,143 --> 01:08:52,254
contraceptive , would they like to do 

1663
01:08:52,254 --> 01:08:54,477
something different . Um as Miss mullen 

1664
01:08:54,477 --> 01:08:56,740
has has also stated and I'll let her 

1665
01:08:56,740 --> 01:08:59,010
talk more about this in a minute . But 

1666
01:08:59,020 --> 01:09:01,990
you know we are moving to allow free 

1667
01:09:01,990 --> 01:09:04,212
contraceptives at R . M . T . S . We're 

1668
01:09:04,212 --> 01:09:06,323
currently doing and was being done at 

1669
01:09:06,323 --> 01:09:08,434
18 . We are now expanding that to all 

1670
01:09:08,434 --> 01:09:10,323
our M . T . F . S . I think it is 

1671
01:09:10,323 --> 01:09:12,940
essential as we do that . Of course we 

1672
01:09:12,940 --> 01:09:15,107
need to educate our service members as 

1673
01:09:15,107 --> 01:09:17,270
well . Uh you know , as the types of 

1674
01:09:17,270 --> 01:09:19,270
contraceptives that we are , we can 

1675
01:09:19,270 --> 01:09:21,530
provide . What's the difference between 

1676
01:09:21,540 --> 01:09:24,450
uh you know an implant such as an I . U . 

1677
01:09:24,450 --> 01:09:26,900
D . As in verse pharmaceutical 

1678
01:09:26,900 --> 01:09:29,030
contraceptives . First emergency 

1679
01:09:29,030 --> 01:09:31,900
contraceptives . So with that , yes , I 

1680
01:09:31,900 --> 01:09:34,650
will commit to you that as we expand . 

1681
01:09:34,650 --> 01:09:36,539
We will also expand our education 

1682
01:09:36,539 --> 01:09:38,650
programs around contraceptives . With 

1683
01:09:38,650 --> 01:09:42,270
that . Um pause for a moment . Mr 

1684
01:09:42,270 --> 01:09:44,103
Garamendi has a question . He is 

1685
01:09:45,940 --> 01:09:49,370
secretary in answer to Mr 

1686
01:09:49,370 --> 01:09:52,920
Garcia's question . You indicated that 

1687
01:09:52,920 --> 01:09:55,710
a officer could 

1688
01:09:56,350 --> 01:09:59,380
authorize an expenditure to travel to 

1689
01:09:59,380 --> 01:10:02,680
another state for um authorized 

1690
01:10:02,680 --> 01:10:04,840
abortions . Some of those authorized 

1691
01:10:04,840 --> 01:10:08,060
abortions appear to be illegal in some 

1692
01:10:08,060 --> 01:10:11,580
states . Could the officer be held 

1693
01:10:11,590 --> 01:10:14,670
criminally liable for assisting in the 

1694
01:10:14,670 --> 01:10:18,250
abortion . Um Congressman . 

1695
01:10:18,260 --> 01:10:21,190
Again , the complexities of this top 

1696
01:10:21,190 --> 01:10:24,140
decision has created very many 

1697
01:10:24,140 --> 01:10:26,500
uncertainties and that is one reason 

1698
01:10:26,500 --> 01:10:29,460
why we are very diligently working with 

1699
01:10:29,460 --> 01:10:31,700
our you know office of General Counsel 

1700
01:10:31,700 --> 01:10:34,800
to examine how each state law might 

1701
01:10:34,810 --> 01:10:37,032
affect what we do within the Department 

1702
01:10:37,032 --> 01:10:40,690
of Defense but but you know currently 

1703
01:10:40,700 --> 01:10:42,644
the way that it works in the leave 

1704
01:10:42,644 --> 01:10:45,110
policy . Um Well let me take that back 

1705
01:10:45,290 --> 01:10:48,710
um But you know is the way that we see 

1706
01:10:48,710 --> 01:10:50,932
it as long as they are performing their 

1707
01:10:50,932 --> 01:10:54,230
legal duties . So a medical provider 

1708
01:10:54,240 --> 01:10:57,210
performing their legal duties uh at an 

1709
01:10:57,210 --> 01:11:00,540
M . T . F . Advising a service member 

1710
01:11:00,550 --> 01:11:03,870
to um you know , to their options for a 

1711
01:11:03,870 --> 01:11:05,981
covered abortion . And that they need 

1712
01:11:05,981 --> 01:11:08,170
to go . Is that currently the way that 

1713
01:11:08,170 --> 01:11:10,450
we have looked at it is no because they 

1714
01:11:10,450 --> 01:11:12,290
are performing their duties in a 

1715
01:11:12,290 --> 01:11:14,470
federal matter that the state law will 

1716
01:11:14,470 --> 01:11:16,970
not trump over the federal law . Sir . 

1717
01:11:18,570 --> 01:11:20,790
I'll be interested to hear the legal 

1718
01:11:20,790 --> 01:11:23,068
analysis . Thank you very much , madam . 

1719
01:11:23,068 --> 01:11:25,210
Chair . Alright Miss mullen briefly . 

1720
01:11:25,210 --> 01:11:29,130
If you would . Um Thank you . 

1721
01:11:29,140 --> 01:11:32,430
Um As you mentioned earlier um we are 

1722
01:11:32,440 --> 01:11:34,910
very much front and center about trying 

1723
01:11:34,910 --> 01:11:36,770
to communicate better with our 

1724
01:11:36,780 --> 01:11:38,891
beneficiaries in particular are women 

1725
01:11:38,891 --> 01:11:41,113
about what their choices are . Um We're 

1726
01:11:41,113 --> 01:11:42,947
about ready to publish a women's 

1727
01:11:42,947 --> 01:11:45,169
reproductive health survey conducted by 

1728
01:11:45,169 --> 01:11:47,169
rand . It's the first time that has 

1729
01:11:47,169 --> 01:11:49,391
been done in 30 years and it's given us 

1730
01:11:49,391 --> 01:11:51,502
quite a bit of information to include 

1731
01:11:51,502 --> 01:11:53,502
the lack of education about women's 

1732
01:11:53,502 --> 01:11:55,724
options around contraceptives which are 

1733
01:11:55,724 --> 01:11:57,724
free in are all active duty service 

1734
01:11:57,724 --> 01:11:59,836
members get free contraception within 

1735
01:11:59,836 --> 01:12:01,724
the M . T . S . And in our retail 

1736
01:12:01,724 --> 01:12:04,270
pharmacies . It is a small copay for 

1737
01:12:04,270 --> 01:12:06,870
our active duty family members . But um 

1738
01:12:06,880 --> 01:12:08,824
with your legislation that you are 

1739
01:12:08,824 --> 01:12:10,900
spearheading , we hope to see that 

1740
01:12:10,900 --> 01:12:12,930
change this year . Um Thank you for 

1741
01:12:12,930 --> 01:12:16,270
that effort . Um We also do have an app 

1742
01:12:16,270 --> 01:12:19,270
that's called uh decide and be ready 

1743
01:12:19,270 --> 01:12:21,103
that men and women can use to go 

1744
01:12:21,103 --> 01:12:23,159
through their contraceptive option , 

1745
01:12:23,159 --> 01:12:25,326
decide what's best for but what's best 

1746
01:12:25,326 --> 01:12:27,437
for them . We also have those walk in 

1747
01:12:27,437 --> 01:12:29,548
clinics that are newly being expanded 

1748
01:12:29,548 --> 01:12:31,620
this year as well . But as you've 

1749
01:12:31,620 --> 01:12:33,950
mentioned overall , um it's sort of 

1750
01:12:33,950 --> 01:12:36,380
astonishing how um our young men and 

1751
01:12:36,380 --> 01:12:38,491
women really don't fully know of what 

1752
01:12:38,491 --> 01:12:40,547
their reproductive rights and health 

1753
01:12:40,547 --> 01:12:42,713
care consists of . And we need to do a 

1754
01:12:42,713 --> 01:12:45,390
better job . Um And I would also say um 

1755
01:12:45,390 --> 01:12:47,800
undersecretary while you are doing that 

1756
01:12:47,810 --> 01:12:51,380
um that education 

1757
01:12:51,380 --> 01:12:55,200
with women who are um in boot camp , 

1758
01:12:55,210 --> 01:12:57,310
um we really need it for the men as 

1759
01:12:57,310 --> 01:13:00,760
well . Um Because truly , you know , we 

1760
01:13:00,760 --> 01:13:02,704
keep losing sight of the fact that 

1761
01:13:02,704 --> 01:13:05,040
there there are two in this process . 

1762
01:13:05,040 --> 01:13:08,250
And um the burden and responsibilities 

1763
01:13:08,250 --> 01:13:12,060
is um rests with just one um once 

1764
01:13:12,070 --> 01:13:15,320
um she is pregnant . So um 

1765
01:13:16,170 --> 01:13:19,980
And also for service members um who 

1766
01:13:19,990 --> 01:13:22,790
as men have spouses that should be 

1767
01:13:22,790 --> 01:13:25,170
accessing this . So it's important that 

1768
01:13:25,170 --> 01:13:28,840
we we do a much more robust one . I 

1769
01:13:28,850 --> 01:13:32,810
um I we have to do something 

1770
01:13:32,820 --> 01:13:36,780
about the leave that women 

1771
01:13:36,790 --> 01:13:40,620
cannot access The TDYI guess is what 

1772
01:13:40,620 --> 01:13:42,564
you would for to it where they are 

1773
01:13:42,564 --> 01:13:46,210
allowed to go to another state to get 

1774
01:13:46,220 --> 01:13:49,360
the abortion and not be docked in terms 

1775
01:13:49,370 --> 01:13:52,350
of leave . We are providing unequal 

1776
01:13:52,360 --> 01:13:55,580
access to women in the military when we 

1777
01:13:55,580 --> 01:13:58,990
have 109 

1778
01:13:59,000 --> 01:14:01,990
installations in these red states 

1779
01:14:03,200 --> 01:14:06,110
That are banning all abortions 109 

1780
01:14:06,110 --> 01:14:09,880
installations . And it could be as 

1781
01:14:09,880 --> 01:14:12,980
many as 134 because there are court 

1782
01:14:12,980 --> 01:14:16,630
cases pending . So um there needs to be 

1783
01:14:16,630 --> 01:14:20,350
a way one of not docking them for 

1784
01:14:20,360 --> 01:14:23,010
for the the time that they have to take 

1785
01:14:23,010 --> 01:14:25,590
away . And we've got to deal with this 

1786
01:14:25,600 --> 01:14:27,900
this travel issue at some point . Um 

1787
01:14:27,910 --> 01:14:30,840
And finally I would say that um my 

1788
01:14:30,840 --> 01:14:33,920
concerns about retaliation are real . 

1789
01:14:33,930 --> 01:14:35,986
That needs to be nipped in the bud . 

1790
01:14:35,986 --> 01:14:39,940
And um the potential for a 

1791
01:14:39,950 --> 01:14:42,950
uh commanding officer to refuse to 

1792
01:14:42,950 --> 01:14:46,710
grant the leave because 

1793
01:14:46,720 --> 01:14:49,680
of a religious um 

1794
01:14:50,730 --> 01:14:54,690
Concern or just because they 

1795
01:14:54,690 --> 01:14:58,480
can refuse . Um so we can continue this 

1796
01:14:58,480 --> 01:15:00,930
conversation . Um as you point out , 

1797
01:15:00,940 --> 01:15:04,170
it's a complex decision um but I 

1798
01:15:04,170 --> 01:15:07,050
think there's no question that there is 

1799
01:15:07,050 --> 01:15:10,530
a 14th amendment violation to women 

1800
01:15:10,530 --> 01:15:13,740
serving at these 109 

1801
01:15:14,200 --> 01:15:17,190
Installations where they cannot access 

1802
01:15:17,260 --> 01:15:19,760
the abortion care nearby . And as we 

1803
01:15:19,760 --> 01:15:21,927
heard from our witnesses earlier today 

1804
01:15:21,927 --> 01:15:24,670
have to spend thousands of dollars as 

1805
01:15:24,670 --> 01:15:27,390
much as $10,000 . Because if you need 

1806
01:15:27,400 --> 01:15:31,170
to have anesthesia , even 

1807
01:15:31,180 --> 01:15:33,870
if it's A . D . N . C . Or A . D . N . 

1808
01:15:33,870 --> 01:15:36,920
E . You are dealing with very expensive 

1809
01:15:36,920 --> 01:15:39,260
costs . And for these enlisted service 

1810
01:15:39,260 --> 01:15:41,371
members as you know , they're they're 

1811
01:15:41,371 --> 01:15:44,660
making very small incomes . So , um , 

1812
01:15:44,670 --> 01:15:47,450
with that we will continue this 

1813
01:15:47,450 --> 01:15:50,200
conversation . We thank you both for 

1814
01:15:50,200 --> 01:15:53,520
being here and for your , um , 

1815
01:15:53,530 --> 01:15:55,720
commitment to making sure that we 

1816
01:15:55,730 --> 01:15:58,530
maximize the benefits to service 

1817
01:15:58,530 --> 01:16:00,640
members , all service members and 

1818
01:16:00,640 --> 01:16:02,696
particularly women . Since the Dobbs 

1819
01:16:02,696 --> 01:16:04,350
case with that , we stand adjourned .