[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 23 (Thursday, February 27, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H676-H677]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CHILDREN AND HEALTH INSURANCE

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, over 70,000 children in my home State of 
Connecticut woke up this morning without any health insurance, and 
tonight their parents will lie awake, worrying, knowing that they are 
one phone call, one accident away from medical and potentially 
financial ruin.
  As we come together from both sides of the aisle to work on areas of 
common ground, surely we can agree that

[[Page H677]]

providing health care for our children must be a top priority. 
Yesterday the Democratic leaders asked the majority leadership to move 
the expansion of health care coverage for children to the top of their 
legislative agenda. There are 10 million reasons why we must do this, 
for the 10 million children in this country living without health 
insurance.
  If there is one thing the American people are counting on us to do, 
it is to make the world a better place for their families, and we 
cannot have healthy families without healthy kids. We need to make 
health care work for all of America's children. We must take this 
issue, make it a top priority, in this new session of the Congress.

                          ____________________