[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 143 (Tuesday, September 25, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12027-S12028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  CHIP

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, King David sang:

       How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in 
     unity!

  When it comes to work here in Congress, the Children's Health 
Insurance Program has been as close to that ideal as a major piece of 
legislation can be. It began 10 years ago, with Senators working 
together across the political spectrum: Senators Orrin Hatch and Ted 
Kennedy; Senators John Chafee and Jay Rockefeller. I was proud to have 
been part of that.
  It passed overwhelmingly 10 years ago, and the President signed it 
into law. It worked.
  The Children's Health Insurance Program brought people together 
across political divides because CHIP was, and always has been, about 
helping kids. CHIP has been about helping young Americans who, through 
no fault of their own, live in working families who cannot afford 
expensive private health insurance. It is about kids. It is about 
health. It is about low-income kids.
  CHIP is about kids going to the doctor. It is about kids having 
checkups. It is about kids getting vaccinations. It is about kids 
seeing the dentist.
  Healthy children are more likely to go to school. They are more 
likely to do well in school. They are more likely to get a good job 
after school. They are less likely to end up on welfare. They are more 
likely to become a productive member of the workforce.
  The Children's Health Insurance Program has been a success. Since 
1997, the share of all American children without health insurance 
dropped by a fifth, while the number of uninsured adult Americans 
increased. For our country's poorest children, the uninsured rate has 
dropped by a third.
  Governors from both parties support the Children's Health Insurance 
Program. Two Presidents of different parties have supported and 
expanded CHIP.
  This year, we worked together to improve and extend the program. 
Senators Orrin Hatch and Jay Rockefeller, Chuck Grassley and I worked 
very closely together, with many meetings, working as hard as we could, 
focusing on kids. We cooperated in the finest tradition. I thank my 
colleagues for the hundreds of hours they put into that effort.
  Some told me: Put CHIP in reconciliation. That is the fast-track 
process we use sometimes around here. Some said: Use the fast-track 
budget process to pass CHIP, so you do not have to get big majorities 
to get things done. You do not have to worry about 60 votes. But I 
said: No. CHIP has always been a consensus bill. We would make CHIP a 
consensus bill again this year. It has in the past. It should always 
be.
  That is what we did. The Finance Committee reported the CHIP bill out 
by a vote of 17 to 4, strongly bipartisan. The Senate passed it by a 
vote of 68 to 31. This evening, the House of Representatives will pass 
essentially the same CHIP bill we passed in the Senate.
  Now it is time for us to pass this bill and send it to the President. 
When we do, it will be time for the President to show he is also a 
uniter, he is not a divider but a uniter. It will be a time for the 
President to act in the best traditions of compassionate conservatism. 
It will be a time for the President to sign this bill.
  Let us show how good and pleasant it can be for Washington to work 
together in unity. That is what our people want. That is what the 
people who sent us here want. They want us working together. They do 
not like big fights, so long as we are doing what they regard is 
basically, essentially the right thing. This is that, clearly. So let 
us help get health care to kids who need it, and let us enact this CHIP 
bill into law.

[[Page S12028]]

  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, what is the pending amendment?

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