Skip to main content

"Bishop Amendment" Puts Priority On Troop Health

May 1, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. Yesterday afternoon, the “Bishop Amendment” to the FY06 National Defense Authorization Act, requiring a study into the effectiveness of self-administered pre- and post- deployment health exams, passed the House of Representatives for inclusion in the bill, which authorizes spending for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy.

The Bishop Amendment specifically addresses the Department of Defense’s (DoD) compliance with a 1997 law requiring that DoD perform pre- and post- deployment medical exams to determine both a service member’s fitness for combat and any health conditions that result from deployment. To comply with this mandate, the DoD is currently replacing a comprehensive medical exam with self-administered surveys.

Congressman Sanford Bishop has long argued that self-administered surveys do not meet the 1997 law’s requirement of “medical exams” and in May of 2004, he introduced the “Healthy Troops Act,” which would require service members to receive a full, “hands-on,” pre- and post- deployment exam. The Bishop Amendment—which reflects a bi-partisan agreement with the House Armed Service Committee—keeps the issue alive by requiring a study into the effectiveness of the self-administered surveys currently in use.

Speaking in support of his amendment, Congressman Sanford Bishop made the following statement on the House floor:

“Mr. Speaker, I first introduced the “Healthy Troops Act” in May of 2004 when it was brought to my attention that many of our men and women—serving in harms way—are not receiving “hands-on” medical examinations before and after they are deployed in combat. A 1997 Congressional mandate requires both pre- and post-deployment medical examines, however, this requirement is currently being met by having our troops fill out self-administered surveys.

This concerns me, as I believe it should concern all Americans. First, because the health of our service members should not rely on their ability to self diagnose and secondly, because these brave men and women deserve an accurate documentation of their health status in combat so that, if necessary, they can claim veterans’ health benefits when they come home.

My original amendment required that DoD provide full hands-on pre- and post-deployment exams for all deployed troops, as opposed to the self-administered questionnaires. It also mandated a study of the effectiveness of the self-administered exams.

The revised amendment—which reflects a bi-partisan compromise struck with Chairman Duncan Hunter and the Armed Services Committee—provides only for the study into the effectiveness of the questionnaires and that the study be performed within 120 days after its enactment.

I do not believe that this is enough, but it does represent a victory for our service men and women because it continues an important ongoing dialogue on the health and safety of our service men and women; and it requires further analysis of the effectiveness of actual hands-on health screenings.

I think that we can all agree that the health of our service members must be at the top of our agenda and this amendment puts the focus where it belongs."