“Madam Speaker, thank you and let me thank my colleague from California for yielding. I rise in opposition to this bill because of my strong support for the SCHIP program. In 1997, Republicans here in Congress worked with our Democrat colleagues to create the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. I was there and many of you were here as well, and throughout that process it was bipartisan, it was fair and open discussion and open debate. Unfortunately, today the voices of millions of Americans who want to provide input into this proposal have been silenced in the process.
“Earlier this week, I wrote to Speaker Pelosi and President-elect Obama expressing our willingness to work together on this critical issue. We outlined our principles for this program’s reauthorization. The principles are nothing new; in fact, they’re the same principles that led to the creation of SCHIP in 1997. And they’re this:
This program ought to cover poor children first. Unfortunately in many states, more than 2/3 of those enrolled in the SCHIP program are adults and there is nothing in this bill that ensures poor children will be brought into the program first.
Secondly, taxpayer funds for this program should not be used to fund benefits for illegal immigrants. And there has been this big debate about whether it does or it doesn’t, but the fact is while the bill says we will not cover illegal immigrants in this bill, the whole verification process that should be in here to ensure that only American citizens and legal residents are entitled to these benefits, no verification system to speak of is contained in this bill.
We also believe that SCHIP should not force children with private insurance into a state health insurance program. Last year, this proposal, there was language that made it clear that children with private health insurance programs should stay in that private health insurance program and should not be pushed into the state-run program.
“Unfortunately, the bill before us does not reflect these principles – the same ones that have guided this program since its creation. I believe the bill before us would undermine the original intent of the SCHIP program by expanding the program to adults, illegal immigrants, and upper-income families who already have access to private health insurance.
“I think taxpayers deserve better, and more importantly, our nation’s children deserve better. That’s why today Republicans are offering a better way. I said on the opening day when I gave the gavel to Ms. Pelosi that Republicans would not just be the Party of no, that we would come to the floor with better solutions. And a better solution that we will offer here soon is a program that would reauthorize SCHIP for seven years, not the four and half years we see in the majority’s bill. It will reflect our principles and make it clear that poor children should be covered first. And it will fully fund the SCHIP program without raising taxes on American families across our country.
“Madam Speaker, federal funds targeted for low-income children should benefit low-income children. Period. Only one measure on the floor today will serve those children’s interests, and that’s what the Republican motion to recommit will contain. So I would urge my colleagues to vote yes on the motion to commit and no on the underlying bill and I yield back.”
The Republican alternative:
Republicans created the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in 1997 to provide health insurance for low-income children. From the outset, the program was focused on needy children, and it has enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress for more than a decade. On the House floor today, however, the Democratic Majority is forcing through legislation – written without Republican input, without legislative hearings, and without the opportunity for amendments – that would undermine the original intent of SCHIP. At the conclusion of today’s debate, House Republicans will offer an alternative, as a motion to recommit, to renew SCHIP for seven years, fully fund SCHIP without raising taxes, and keep the program focused on its initial mission: serving low-income children.
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) recently wrote to President-elect Barack Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), expressing Republicans’ desire to work together with the Democratic Majority on an SCHIP reauthorization reflecting core principles essential to the program since its creation in the late 1990s:
“Democrats and Republicans, in the spirit of cooperation and working together, created the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) a decade ago to give millions of low-income, American children access to high-quality health care. It is in that continuing spirit of bipartisan cooperation that, as the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to consider SCHIP legislation as soon as next week, we hope to work together to renew and reauthorize this important program…”
“Republicans are committed to reauthorizing SCHIP in a manner that puts poor children first, which is the original intent of the program. We hope that in that same vein of bipartisan cooperation, you will take Republican principles into consideration as a helpful guide as the Democratic Majority brings legislation to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.”
In spite of the leaders’ request, Democratic leaders continued their plans for an expansion of the program to cover adults, illegal immigrants, and families already covered by private health insurance. But Members on both sides of the aisle will have an opportunity to embrace the original mission of SCHIP by supporting the Republican motion to recommit. Specifically, the GOP alternative will:
Cover low-income children first. Republicans believe that SCHIP legislation should ensure that states are enrolling low-income children below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, especially those who are currently eligible for Medicaid and/or SCHIP, but are not yet enrolled.
Serve only U.S. citizens and certain legal residents. Republicans believe SCHIP legislation must include stronger protections to prevent fraud by including citizenship verification standards to ensure that only eligible U.S. citizens and certain legal residents are enrolled in the program.
Not replace private health insurance or force children with private health care to move into a government run program. Republicans want to work with Democrats to cover all eligible low-income children, rather than removing families from private insurance plans and placing them on the government rolls.
Provide SCHIP with stable funding, without using budget gimmicks that put the program in jeopardy. Republicans do not believe SCHIP legislation should be used as an opportunity to raise taxes, especially on the poorest Americans during an economic crisis, to pay for expanding the program.
The Republican alternative will maintain the program’s core function: ensuring low-income children – not adults, illegal immigrants, and families with private health coverage – have the best care possible. Will Democrats join Republicans in supporting the mission of SCHIP and, indeed, the children it is meant to serve?
