[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 32 (Thursday, March 13, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H953]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
      ANNOUNCEMENT OF FORMATION OF CONGRESSIONAL CHILDREN'S CAUCUS

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to say to 
the American people that we do care, and I am very proud to announce 
the formation of the Congressional Children's Caucus, comprised of 
Democrats and Republicans who are concerned about children, and I think 
one of our early charges is to ensure that our children all over 
America have health care.
  Mr. Speaker, 1 in 7 children are uninsured. We find that 9 out of 10 
children without insurance have working parents every single day.
  As a local elected official, I offered to our local community the 
importance of preventive health care to work with our families to 
ensure that our children were immunized and that our children saw the 
kind of health care that will give them a better quality of life.
  Now, according to the report issued by the Census Bureau, one-third 
of American children do not have private health insurance, and 
yesterday the Children's Defense Fund said unless action is taken now 
12.6 million children will be uninsured by the year 2000.
  We must have a child health care insurance, and we must ensure that 
we care. Let America know that we care.

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