[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 203 (Wednesday, December 13, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S7984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Children's Health Insurance Program

  Madam President, over 2 months ago I stood here in this Chamber, 
urging my colleagues to pass legislation that will prevent kids 
enrolled in the Children's Health Insurance Program from losing their 
healthcare. The Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, provides 
healthcare coverage to over 100,000 children in my home State of 
Michigan and more than 9 million children nationwide.
  I recall welcoming the news that Senate Finance Committee Chairman 
Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden had reached a bipartisan agreement to 
extend the healthcare benefits for these children. They worked together 
and went through regular order. The Finance Committee held a hearing 
and a markup on the bill in October.
  We all know that regular order has become a very rare event in the 
Senate today, and I appreciate the bipartisan effort to have a Senate 
vote on a bill that is absolutely critical to our Nation's children. I 
certainly expected that this bipartisan bill would come to the floor 
and pass with broad bipartisan support, thus bringing relief to 
families across the Nation who are worried about whether their children 
will continue to have healthcare in 2018. Unfortunately, in the months 
since those good-faith efforts, we still have not seen a vote on this 
important legislation. This is inexcusable. We must take action now.
  States are already beginning to notify families that their children's 
healthcare plans may be canceled if Congress does not act. States such 
as Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, and others have announced that they may 
run out of funds within weeks. In my home State of Michigan, I have 
heard from parents who are worried about whether their children will 
still be able to see their pediatrician next year. I have also heard 
from pediatricians who take care of these children how children will be 
hurt if their healthcare is taken away.
  It would be unconscionable to rip healthcare services away from 
children during the most formative years of their lives. It would be 
unconscionable to put new roadblocks up for families whose children 
need physicals and vaccines before they can go to school. It would be 
unconscionable to increase healthcare costs for working families who 
are just trying to keep their children healthy and give them the 
opportunity to prosper.
  This is not a partisan issue. In 1997, President Bill Clinton worked 
with a Republican majority both in the Senate and in the House of 
Representatives to successfully pass the Children's Health Insurance 
Program into law. That legislation passed with 85 votes in the Senate 
because providing needed health services to children should never be a 
partisan issue.
  The CHIP program has been reauthorized on a bipartisan basis since 
its inception because it is effective. CHIP is working for our Nation's 
children, and we should be too.
  I urge my colleagues across the aisle to call for a vote on this 
legislation to extend CHIP and pass it without delay. Let's do what is 
right for our country's children and families and pass this bipartisan 
legislation now.
  Thank you.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.