[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 25 (Friday, February 9, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E306-E307]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HEALTHCARE AND THE FY 08 BUDGET

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. DONNA M. CHRISTENSEN

                         of the virgin islands

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 8, 2007

  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, today I rise to express my strong 
concern and disappointment over the budget that the President sent to 
us this week. This budget--like those that The President has presented 
every year for the past 7 years--clearly shows that his priorities are 
not in sync with that of the American people. This budget takes money 
that could help millions of the most vulnerable Americans--the poor, 
the chronically ill, the elderly, people with disabilities and children 
and uses it instead to give a few wealthy Americans tax breaks they 
don't need and many don't want.
  While many have called this budget fiscally irresponsible, which is 
an appropriate description, Madam Speaker, in my opinion this budget 
goes far beyond fiscal irresponsibility! It lacks compassion and 
humanity and it is unjust. The American people expect better, Madam 
Speaker, and we must answer their call.
  As others of my colleagues have conveyed, this budget does not just 
cut, but slashes Medicare and Medicaid, two programs that literally 
sustain the lives of millions of Americans who have serious health 
needs. And simply cannot afford coverage.
  And, in this budget, the State Children's Health Insurance Program is 
so under-funded that the 9 million children who are uninsured today 
will likely remain uninsured tomorrow.
  The President's budget also takes aim at people living with HIV/AIDS.
  The CARE Act and its ADAP program are drastically under-funded, and 
will leave far too many people with HIV/AIDS without reliable access to 
the most advanced medications, the most appropriate health care and 
treatments, and the support services that they will need to manage 
their conditions, protect their health and care for their families.
  Additionally, under this budget, the CARE Act will find itself 
expected to serve more people with HIV infection, but without adequate 
funding to do so.
  Madam Speaker, as both a physician and the Chair of the Congressional 
Black Caucus Health Braintrust, more than just being disappointed, this 
budget makes me angry. As though the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, and 
the inadequate funding for the CARE Act and SCHIP were not bad enough, 
after what has been hundreds of years of preventable premature deaths 
in people of color, I am particularly disturbed that the President's 
budget completely ignores and does nothing to end the travesty and 
injustice of racial and ethnic health disparities; nor is their funding 
in Health and Human Services for Katrina recovery or rebuilding the 
healthcare infrastructure in the Gulf region.

[[Page E307]]

  Further, this budget cuts or under-funds all of the programs--from 
aging programs, social service grants, and nursing programs, to SAMHSA, 
newborn screening programs, maternal and child health programs, state 
and local capacity building and training for doctors, nurses and other 
health providers--that are not only integral, but essential to the 
elimination of health disparities. Further, the cuts in that budget to 
Veterans programs will also impact their services and undermine their 
health.
  And, as though to add insult to injury, even though NIH gets a slight 
increase in this budget, the National Center on Minority Health and 
Health Disparities at NIH instead gets a cut!
  Madam Speaker, the nation's leading economists often talk about 
``good'' debt as investment debt that creates or improves value and 
``bad'' debt, which creates no value. It's time that we champion a 
budget that creates good debt!
  By making an increased investment in the health and health care of 
all Americans who have unmet health and health care needs, we would be 
making an investment that will, in fact, create value by bolstering the 
health and well being of not only individuals and communities, but of 
the workforce, our defense and ultimately our nation and our nation's 
security.
  Unfortunately, this budget does little more than continue to create 
the ``bad'' debt that has accumulated during the last 6 years and from 
which most Americans have not benefited at all. In fact, despite the 
very high levels of spending in those years, most find them selves 
worse off economically educationally and with respect to their health.
  Now that the prior bad debt has been created and used for tax cuts 
and squandered on a war that yet leaves our soldiers under-protected 
and under-equipped, the poor and people of color who have been further 
marginalized are told they will have to continue to suffer because 
there is no money and now at our expense, the budget must be balanced.
  This is patently unfair and unjust. This budget does not put access 
to healthcare within the reach of the millions of hard working, low 
income Americans and their families. All it does is continue to ensure 
the huge tax breaks for million and billionaires. The president's 
budget continues the misguided health priorities of the Republican 
Party, wealthy corporations and their conservative base.
  We have a great challenge before us in this budget with the 
unprecedented deficit and the huge debt this administration has put us 
in to countries like China.
  Madam Speaker and colleagues, far too many of the people we represent 
have waited patiently for far too long and in that time hundreds of 
thousand have died because of the unhealthy communities they live in 
and because they could not get the healthcare they needed.
  Despite the fire fiscal circumstances left for us to deal with, and 
for us to correct, we cannot delay healthcare justice for them, for 
justice further delayed is justice further denied.
  We must reject the president's budget and replace it with a new one 
that responds to the needs of the people who are depending on us and is 
in keeping with the ideals this nation was founded on.
  The time to do more is now; this is our moment to answer the call of 
millions of Americans who have the desire for a healthier today and a 
healthier tomorrow for themselves and their families. This is the time 
to redefine our Country through realigning its priorities.
  This budget is our opportunity to set a new direction for our Nation.

                          ____________________