[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 166 (Tuesday, October 30, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 25, 2007

  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, today, I voted for H.R. 3963, which 
authorizes the State Children's Health Insurance Program, SCHIP. The 
provisions in the bill would make substantial progress in providing 
health care for children. It would provide coverage for 3.8 million 
more children than are covered now and preserve coverage for 6.6 
million more. It would help ensure Ohio can expand its program to 
include an additional 20,000 children. It targets the lowest-income 
uninsured children for outreach and enrollment, ensures dental coverage 
and mental health parity.
  I voted against a previous version of this bill because it excluded 
about 600,000 legal immigrants. I voted to raise the issue and show 
Congress they were wrong to do so. I voted for the veto override to 
show the President that his objections to government health insurance 
for low income children were outrageous. Today I voted to make the same 
statement. I urge him to do the right thing and sign this bill.
  I believe all children deserve health care. Unfortunately, today's 
bill does not do that. It does not even come close. It continues to 
shun immigrant children in the U.S. who are in full compliance with the 
law by denying States the option to cover them. It also drastically 
reduces support for coverage of parents, even though decades of 
evidence have shown that kids are far more likely to get the care they 
need if their parents are covered. It bars coverage of illegal 
immigrants, even if a State determines that it is cheaper and more 
humane for them to provide routine care than emergency care, which is 
frequently the case. In short, it sacrifices each of these groups of 
people as a bargaining chip.
  This Congress is spending time and energy arguing over narrowly 
defined bills that treat a few of the symptoms but fail to address the 
problems that plague our health care system. Instead, this Congress 
should deliver the reform America is calling for. We should be moving 
ahead with H.R. 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, 
which would lower health care costs, provide coverage for everyone for 
all medically necessary services, and create a single best standard 
quality of care. America deserves--and wants--nothing less.

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