[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 127 (Friday, August 3, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1717]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     THE CHILDREN'S HEALTHCARE AND MEDICARE PROTECTION ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 1, 2007

  Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman/lady from [STATE] for 
yielding me this time. I request unanimous consent to revise and extend 
my remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, today's debate is about promises and responsibility. It 
is about the promise of an American childhood. It is about our 
responsibility to protect the health and well-being of those who grow 
up in the world's most prosperous Nation.
  It is about the promise of a better world for our children and 
grandchildren. We have a responsibility to create a healthcare system 
that is fair, equitable, and affordable for all Americans, regardless 
of their income.
  Mr. Speaker, the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act 
delivers on these promises and fulfills these responsibilities. It 
revitalizes and expands one of the most successful and cost-effective 
health initiatives we have: the State Children's Health Insurance 
Program.
  SCHIP is a model for how government programs should work. It has 
saved money for taxpayers by helping children avoid costly hospital and 
emergency room trips. It has made states equal partners in the 
program's administration, giving them flexibility and a stake in the 
outcome. Most critically, it has provided six million kids with health 
care that they would not otherwise have.
  Because of SCHIP, six million American kids are healthier and more 
vibrant. Six million young lives are better because of this program. 
Isn't this what good government is supposed to accomplish?
  There is still more for us to do, though. Millions of children in our 
country cannot go to a doctor when they feel sick. In my hometown of 
Sacramento, 17,000 kids cannot get the medicines they need until they 
go to an emergency room. This is unacceptable to me, Madam Speaker. It 
should be unacceptable to every single Member of Congress.
  When I cast my vote for this bill today, it will be a vote for the 
future of our country. It will be an investment in the children who are 
the future.
  Mr. Speaker, I stand before this House today as a colleague, but also 
as a proud grandmother. My two beautiful grandchildren are named Anna 
and Robby, and most of what I do here in Congress is colored by how it 
will affect them and their generation.
  Anna and Robby are fortunate in that they have stable, reliable 
health insurance. Millions of their peers are not so lucky.
  I am confident that if we all do so, we will see that voting ``Yes'' 
on the CHAMP Act is not only the right thing to do. It is the smart 
thing to do. It will secure our country's future by providing 
healthcare for the millions of American kids who literally are our 
country's future.

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