To direct the Secretary of Defense to provide certain TRICARE beneficiaries with the opportunity to retain access to TRICARE Prime.

Cost and committee reports

Official records Congress.gov attaches to H.R. 1971.

• Constitutional authority statementThe sponsor’s statement of where the Constitution gives Congress the power to pass this bill. Statement by Mr. KLINE, as printed in the Congressional Record (Page H2603):
  This legislation ensures that the Secretary of Defense provides retired military veteran beneficiaries who live beyond 100 miles of a Military Treatment Facility, an opportunity to retain access to TRICARE Prime. Specific authority is provided by Article I, section 8 of the United States Constitution (clauses 12, 13, 14, and 16), which grants Congress the power to raise and support an Army; to provide and maintain a Navy; to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces; and to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia.
  Source: Congress.gov, record updated December 5, 2025 ↗

  Evidence

  Field in the Congress.gov record

  constitutionalAuthorityStatementText

  Statement length

  572 characters

  Congress.gov bill record

  H.R. 1971, 113th Congress

  Congress.gov API record

  https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/113/hr/1971

  Record last updated by Congress.gov

  December 5, 2025

  PORKER copy retrieved

  September 23, 2026

  Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file

  1c424397db8ea3bca5d30b1307737fdf473b4faffe422f693ca05cbef887e1e1

  PORKER shows the statement exactly as printed, with the page markup removed. It is the sponsor’s claim; it is not a legal finding.

Congress.gov’s record for this bill does not list a CBO cost estimate or a committee report (as of December 5, 2025). Not every bill gets one.

From the Congress.gov bill record for H.R. 1971, last updated December 5, 2025. PORKER’s copy was retrieved September 23, 2026 and is refreshed nightly. Open “Evidence” on any line for the record, field and file fingerprint.