[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 144 (Wednesday, September 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12079-S12080]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          CHIP REAUTHORIZATION

  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I applaud my colleagues who have come to 
the floor this morning to speak out about the injustices in Burma and 
to remind us to not lose sight of the discourse and the injustices that 
occur across the globe, that we must keep a vigilant focus on those and 
speak out against them. I also think it is important to lead by example 
in our country. That is why I come to the floor today in such strong 
support of the Children's Health Insurance Program reauthorization, the 
CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2007, and urge my colleagues to support the 
incredible bipartisan compromise we have all come together to 
negotiate, to set the example of what our values are so that other 
countries might see that working together, the values we share and the 
moral obligation we have to our children can be met as we take these 
types of steps. That kind of leadership by example is critical not just 
in our country but to the example we set for the rest of the world.
  I have to say, as a working mother, I know all too well the 
importance of reliable health insurance coverage for all children. I 
feel blessed that as a Federal employee, I have access to quality 
coverage. When I am up late at night with a sick child, as I was last 
week, I have been blessed as a Federal employee to have that access and 
to be able to know that when the Sun comes up, I can call my doctor. I 
can get my child the kind of medical care I believe he needs. Having 
health insurance coverage gives me peace of mind. But that peace of 
mind should not only belong to those families that can afford private 
health insurance, it should also belong to the working families that 
are struggling to make ends meet. That is why Democrats and 
Republicans worked so hard together to come up with a compromise on a 
bill this important. I commend my colleagues in this body and in the 
House of Representatives from both sides, both parties, who have worked 
diligently to come to this agreement.

  Since the inception of SCHIP 10 years ago or, as we call it in 
Arkansas, ARKids First, because it is a Federal and State partnership 
to provide this health insurance for our children, the number of 
children without health care coverage has been reduced by one-third. 
During that time, I am proud that Arkansas has become a national leader 
in reducing its number of uninsured children from over 20 percent in 
1997 to 10 percent today. Now nearly 65,000 of Arkansas's children 
currently receive coverage through the ARKids B part of ARKids First.
  The bill before us is an important and responsible step forward in 
reaching the millions of children who remain uninsured. It applies the 
lesson of the past 10 years and builds upon the success of the program 
by giving States more of the tools they need while preserving their 
flexibility to strengthen their programs and ultimately cover more 
children. In doing so, it would provide an additional $35 billion over 
5 years that will allow our States to preserve coverage for children 
currently enrolled while reaching an additional 3.8 million uninsured, 
low-income children. This proposal would also provide much needed 
funding to States for outreach and enrollment efforts to reach many of 
those currently uninsured but eligible, making sure we are reaching 
out. For those who are eligible, as we get them on the rolls, it makes 
a tremendous difference. Because as we begin to bring into the fold 
those who can be insured, those who are eligible, we begin to mitigate 
the risk and the balance of the entire cost of what we need to do in 
covering children. In addition, it takes steps to ensure that they get 
a healthy start by providing care for expectant mothers and 
establishing pediatric quality measures to improve the effectiveness, 
safety, and efficiency of the care they receive. For years we have been 
putting quality measures into Medicare and other programs. Now we are 
going to put those same quality measures into pediatric care and 
children's care so we cannot only be reassured that our children are 
getting the best of care, but we are going to also see the benefits 
economically of those quality measures.
  Our plan would also invest in the development of evidence-based 
quality measures for children's health care and provide access to much 
needed dental care for lower income children. I am sure many of my 
colleagues have done as I have, visited Head Start facilities or other 
places where children are learning dental hygiene. It is absolutely 
essential, because when you visit the places where they are not getting 
dental care and dental hygiene, you see children who have rotting 
teeth, who can't pay attention in school, who are malnourished because 
it hurts to eat when they get the opportunity. Dental care is essential 
because those children who do get it are going to be paying attention 
in class. They will be getting better at their education, and they will 
be healthier individuals because they will be receiving nutrition. They 
are going to be on a pathway to a healthier lifestyle.
  We ensure that children enrolled in this CHIP would also be able to 
access mental health care that is on par with the level of medical and 
surgical care they are currently provided. Earlier this month I hosted 
forums across the State of Arkansas to discuss renewal of this vital 
program. We had a wonderful opportunity to meet with health care 
professionals, parents, single working mothers, business individuals 
who see the productivity of their employees better when they know those 
parents have that peace of mind when their children are getting health 
care, others who emphasize just how crucial this program is to 
Arkansas. They are anxious for us to get this program reauthorized. We 
have the opportunity, and we must seize it. They know the clock is 
ticking. If we don't act in some form or fashion by September 30, we 
could endanger the coverage of 6.6 million children currently receiving 
care.
  Further, those I spoke to wanted to see tolerance. They wanted to see 
us

[[Page S12080]]

working together. They had little tolerance, quite frankly, for the 
political posturing by our President, making this a political issue. 
They are frustrated that he doesn't seem willing to budge in terms of 
cost when what we spend in Iraq in only 41 days would provide health 
care coverage for 10 million children each year. And they, like me, 
believe that providing health care to our children is not only an 
investment in our Nation's most precious of resources, but it is a 
moral issue and, quite simply, the right thing to do.
  In Washington we sometimes get in the business of debating policy 
specifics and losing sight of what it is all about. During my recent 
trip to Arkansas, I was reminded of what this will mean for real 
people. It is about a wonderful, hard-working, home-based educator from 
Benton, Jennifer Brown, and her 6-year-old daughter Elizabeth. Because 
Elizabeth had a digestive problem that required treatment, her mother 
would have been forced into the position of choosing between care for 
her sick child or choosing to feed her family if CHIP were not 
available. Placing families in that position is completely 
unacceptable. They deserve so much more. I am proud that CHIP was there 
for Jennifer and Elizabeth. As Jennifer told me:

       Without ARKids First, I don't know how we could have made 
     it.

  It is also about a young working mother and a grandmother, Amy Main 
and Jackie Deuerling, who spoke to me about their daughter and their 
granddaughter Emily, a 4-month-old blessing I was able to hold in my 
arms. What a treasured blessing to that family and to this country. 
Without ARKids First, Emily's family would be unable to provide her 
with the care she desperately needed. As Amy told me:

       The health care coverage provided by ARKids First allows me 
     to feed the kids, afford diapers, and pay for Emily's 
     brother's school supplies. I can make sure the kids have 
     everything they need. If I was paying the medical bills [and 
     if it was me and me alone], we wouldn't be able to afford all 
     of those necessities [or the proper medical treatment].

  We cannot lose sight of that. We should all agree that providing 
health care for our children is certainly one area where partisan 
politics should be placed aside. These working mothers who were there, 
the working families who were represented in these town hall meetings 
were saying what an important thing it was to them, as a value, to be 
able to make sure their children were able to get the health care they 
needed. But they also felt it was a value of who we are as Arkansans 
and as Americans.
  I am very proud the Senate has seen the case we have presented. The 
members of the Senate Finance Committee, of which I am a member, worked 
hard in a bipartisan spirit to find a common ground to improve this 
program. Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Grassley, Senators 
Rockefeller and Hatch, took the challenge. All of us, working together, 
and others, helped in multiple meetings to produce a bill of which 
everyone can be proud. Their leadership and vision should be commended 
by this entire body.
  That is why it is so unfortunate the President and the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services feel so differently. In fact, their proposal 
to increase CHIP funding by only $5 billion over the next 5 years falls 
well short of the funding needed to simply maintain coverage for those 
currently enrolled in the program. That is not right.
  In fact, the message sent to me during my meetings in Arkansas was 
that moving backwards--moving backwards--when it concerns the health 
care of our children is absolutely unacceptable. Instead of forcing 
nearly 1.5 million children to be dropped from their current health 
care providers, shouldn't we all agree, at the very least, absolutely, 
no child should lose coverage as a result of reauthorization?
  The President has been adamant about leaving no child behind when it 
comes to their education. But shouldn't that also apply to their health 
care? How you choose to spend your money for your families or for your 
government most definitely reflects your values and your priorities. I 
ask my colleagues today, what could be a bigger priority than the well-
being of our children--all of our children, the Nation's children, our 
American family?
  In a time when more and more Americans are struggling to find 
affordable health care, CHIP has been a success story that has allowed 
us to make coverage more accessible for millions of children in working 
families. I urge each and every one of my colleagues to explore your 
conscience, to set aside partisan influences, and to support this 
critical effort to invest in the health care of our children--not only 
for the future of our Nation but for the well-being of millions of 
children and working families. They are depending on us, and it is time 
to fulfill our commitment.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation to 
expand health care coverage for the children of our American family.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. KLOBUCHAR). The Senator from New Hampshire 
is recognized.
  Mr. GREGG. Madam President, I wish to speak in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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