S.Amdt. 6769

SA 6769. Mr. WARNOCK (for himself and Mr. Scott of South Carolina)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S.
4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military
activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle A of title VII add the following:

SEC. 716. LIMITATION ON ABILITY OF SECRETARY OF DEFENSE TO
MODIFY SCOPE OF MEDICAL SERVICES.

(a) Limitation.--Section 1073d(f) of title 10, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``a notification of''
and inserting ``a notification and a report regarding''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Each report under paragraph (1) shall contain the
following:
``(A) A budget that is consistent with the requirements
under this chapter regarding access to medical care and the
quality of such care.
``(B) A description of how the Secretary uses enhanced
appointment and compensation authorities, including under
section 1599c of this title, to recruit and retain civilian
employees.
``(C) An analysis of the effects on services at a military
medical treatment facility when a medical provider who is a
member of the armed forces permanently changes station and
the position of such member is not filled (whether by a
member, a civilian, or a contractor).
``(D) The number of positions required to fully staff the
current military health system, as of the date of the report,
and the number of such unfilled positions, including an
identification of whether such positions would be filled by a
member, a civilian, or a contractor.
``(E) An analysis of the ability of the managed care
network of the TRICARE program to absorb a member of the
armed forces or covered beneficiary that cannot be provided
care at a military medical treatment facility, including an
explanation of the exact elements used in developing a cost
analysis between providing care through such network and such
facilities.
``(F) An analysis of the ability of the Defense Health
Agency to encourage members of the armed forces and covered
beneficiaries to use military medical treatment facilities
instead of the managed care network of the TRICARE program.
``(G) The status of efforts to close all recommendations by
the Comptroller General of the United States contained in the
July 2025 report titled `Defense Health Care: Information
Needed to Improve Monitoring of Military Personnel Staffing
at Medical Facilities' (GAO-25-106988).
``(H) The status of efforts to close all recommendations by
the Comptroller General contained in the April 2025 report
titled `Defense Health Care: Actions Needed to Address Long-
Standing Management Challenges with Medical Facilities' (GAO-
25-107432).
``(I) The status of efforts to close all recommendations by
the Inspector General of the Department of Defense contained
in the December 2025 report titled `Audit of the Defense
Health Agency's Management of Military Medical Treatment
Facilities Outside the Continental United States in Meeting
Access to Primary Care Standards' (DODIG-2026-025).''.
(b) Application.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
shall apply with respect to any modification of the scope of
medical care proposed by the Secretary of Defense on or after
January 1, 2026, including such proposals submitted by the
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to the
Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of
Representatives on March 4, 2026.

SEC. 717. PROHIBITION ON AND REVERSAL OF ACTIONS TO MODIFY
SCOPE OF MEDICAL SERVICES PROVIDED AT CERTAIN
MILITARY MEDICAL TREATMENT FACILITIES.

(a) Prohibition.--The Secretary of Defense may not take any
action to carry out the service change described in
subsection (c).
(b) Reversal and Restoration.--Not later than 30 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Defense shall carry out the following actions:
(1) Reverse any steps taken to carry out the service change
described in subsection (c).
(2) Restore personnel and clinical services affected by
such service change to the level existing as of March 3, 2026
(unless such level is otherwise modified by a provision of
law enacted on or after such date).
(c) Service Change Described.--The service change described
in this subsection is the service change at Eisenhower Army
Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Georgia, specified in the
notification of service changes submitted by the Under
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to the
Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of
Representatives on March 4, 2026, pursuant to section
1073d(f) of title 10, United States Code, which consists of--
(1) converting the military medical treatment facility from
an inpatient hospital to an outpatient ambulatory care
center;
(2) discontinuing inpatient, operating, and emergency room
services; and
(3) realigning medical manpower to other military medical
treatment facilities.
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