[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 14, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TODAY IS A GOOD DAY FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES

  (Ms. SCHWARTZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SCHWARTZ. Madam Speaker, today is a good day for American 
families. Today, we reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance 
Program for nearly 7 million children currently covered and to expand 
coverage to an additional 4 million uninsured children.
  My commitment to ensuring health coverage for every child in our 
great Nation is just as strong today as it was in 1992 when I 
successfully worked for the early creation of CHIP in Pennsylvania. Yet 
today, 9 million children are still uninsured--almost 140,000 children 
in Pennsylvania alone--and the number grows daily.
  As the economy continues to suffer and unemployment grows, more and 
more American families are losing their insurance coverage. Parents 
without coverage worry that their children will get sick or need to 
visit the doctor, and they simply do not have the money to pay. So as 
we work to reverse the economic downturn, we can and we should ensure 
that our children's health will be protected now and into the future.
  Strengthening CHIP for 111 million children is the right thing to do, 
and in just 6 days, we will have a President who--unlike our outgoing 
President--will sign this bill and achieve this goal for America's 
children.
  Change is here. It is a good day in America.

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