To express the sense of the Senate that Congress should enact an increase for the period of continued TRICARE coverage of children of members of the uniformed services who die while serving on active duty for a period of more than 30 days and make such increased period applicable to children of members who have died since the commencement of military operations in Afghanistan.

SA 565. Mr. STEVENS (for Mr. DeWine) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by Mr. Stevens to the bill H.R. 1268, Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, to establish and rapidly implement regulations for State driver's license and identification document security standards, to prevent terrorists from abusing the asylum laws of the United States, to unify terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and removal, to ensure expeditious construction of the San Diego border fence, and for other purposes; as follows:

On page 169, between lines 8 and 9, insert the following:

sense of senate on increased period of continued tricare coverage of

children of members of the uniformed services who die while serving on active duty for a period of more than 30 days

Sec. 1122. It is the sense of the Senate that--

(1) Congress should enact an amendment to section 1079 of title 10, United States Code, in order to increase the period of continued TRICARE coverage of children of members of the uniformed services who die while serving on active duty for a period of more than 30 days under that section such that the period of continued eligibility is the longer of--

(A) the three-year period beginning on the date of death of the member;

(B) the period ending on the date on which the child attains 21 years of age; or

(C) in the case of a child of a deceased member who, at 21 years of age, is enrolled in a full-time course of study in a secondary school or in a full-time course of study in an institution of higher education approved by the administering Secretary and was, at the time of the member's death, in fact dependent on the member for over one-half of the child's support, the period ending on the earlier--

(i) the date on which the child ceases to pursue such a course of study, as determined by the administering Secretary; or

(ii) the date on which the child attains 23 years of age; and

(2) Congress should make the amendment applicable to deaths of members of the Armed Forces on or after October 7, 2001, the date of the commencement of military operations in Afghanistan.