[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 203 (Wednesday, December 13, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8001-S8002]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Children's Health Insurance Program

  Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, all the nearly 50,000 children who are on 
West Virginia CHIP want this Christmas is to have their healthcare. 
That is not a lot to ask for from a child.
  As a legislative body, we were elected to serve the needs of all of 
our constituents, and that includes protecting our most vulnerable--our 
children. How many times do you hear us give speeches, whether it is in 
this body or whether it is back home--it is all about our children. The 
future of our country is about our children. The future of our State is 
about our children. Our future generation--whatever we do, the promise 
of the world--is about our children. And all they are asking for is to 
have their healthcare.
  It seems as though we are so consumed with partisan gridlock and 
posturing that we would allow the expiration of health insurance for 
children. It is almost unconscionable for us to be in this situation, 
and the children have no control of their own healthcare coverage, and 
their parents can't really afford basic healthcare. They are the 
working people who are above the poverty guidelines and doing 
everything they can to put bread on the table and take care of their 
families, and their children have no access to healthcare without CHIP.
  On September 30, Congress not only failed to reauthorize a 
bipartisan, noncontroversial program for children, we failed the 9 
million children in this country who rely on the program to stay 
healthy. There are 9 million children who are depending on CHIP, the 
funding of CHIP, and the basic priorities we should have for our most 
vulnerable, and we have done nothing. Our No. 1 job as Senators, as 
parents, and as human beings is to care for and protect our children, 
but this body cannot even find the humanity to do that.
  In West Virginia alone, almost 50,000 children use CHIP over the 
course of the year, and more than 20,000 children who are currently on 
the program are going to lose it in February when the money runs out. 
Through CHIP, these children have access to basic medical care, which 
includes prescriptions, immunizations, dental coverage, vision, and 
mental health coverage. For more than 2 months, their healthcare has 
been hanging in the balance because of the negligence of the body, our 
dysfunction, playing Democrat and Republican at a higher level of our 
party than our purpose of being here, which is to do our job.
  Millions of families are in a state of uncertainty, worrying about 
how to pay for their child's basic healthcare needs or, for many 
families, lifesaving services. I believe it is our duty to ensure that 
our children are taken care of, for they are truly our country's future 
and legacy. I believe that no matter how much your family makes or 
where you come from, the most important thing you have is healthcare 
for your children so that they have a healthy start.
  There are five promises every adult should make to a child. This was 
started under Colin Powell, the five promises.
  The first one is, every child needs to have a loving, caring adult in 
their life; someone who they know unconditionally loves them, right, 
wrong, or indifferent. It is not always the biological parents or 
biological family. It could be a neighbor. It could be someone reaching 
out. It could be a church or service. It could be an afterschool 
program.
  Second, every child must have a safe place. A safe place might not 
always be the home where they live.
  Third, every child must have a healthy start. We talked about 
nutrition. We talked about healthcare. That is part of it. If we can't 
teach a child how to keep themselves healthy, how to take care of 
themselves nutritionally in all different ways, they are not going to 
grow up to be a productive adult. They will have health concerns. They 
will have health challenges. It is up to us to make sure they have that 
healthy start.

[[Page S8002]]

  Fourth, every child should have a livable skill. That means 
education. In this country, we make sure every child has free 
education, K-12, and we make sure there is assistance so they can go 
through a college program. If we can work with them and help them with 
financial literacy, they wouldn't be bound with so much debt. I think 
we can help in a lot of different ways.
  The fifth promise is the hardest one to teach. It is the hardest one 
because this promise is that every child should grow up to be a loving, 
caring adult and give something back. If these children see that we 
don't care and that our priority is not healthcare and that having a 
healthy start in life is not one of our priorities, what are they going 
to do when it is their turn, when they become the responsible adults? 
What are they going to do? Are they going say: Well, you know, I don't 
know, we didn't have too good of an example because we saw all the 
bickering and fighting back and forth, politics trumping everything, so 
I guess maybe that is not a big priority for us.
  I hope they have more discipline than we have had here. I hope they 
have more compassion, more empathy than we have shown. That is what I 
hope. I hope that we change our ways now and make sure our failure to 
come together stops and stops now and that we come together for the 
CHIP program and the healthcare for every child who depends on this for 
a healthy start in life.
  That is why I stand before you today--to encourage my colleagues to 
come together and find a solution and protect healthcare for over 9 
million children across this country. I have talked to families and 
children all across West Virginia who are at risk of losing their 
healthcare coverage.
  For many families, CHIP is a temporary helping hand while they are 
down and out. It is a perfect example of how, in West Virginia and in 
America, we put out a hand to help those people in need. There is a 
difference between a handout and a hand-up. These people need a hand-up 
when they hit hard times.
  I have a letter from a mother in West Virginia.
  I have encouraged the people of West Virginia to put a real family, a 
real face behind the challenges they have so that it is not just 
something we are speaking about in a political arena--it is basically 
something that happens in real life, and it is affecting people.
  This letter comes from Annetta:

       My name is Annetta, and I am the mother of a now 18-year-
     old son named Dalton. WVCHIP is important to me because when 
     Dalton was 15, it was discovered he had a pituitary brain 
     tumor as well as a condition known has Chiari malformation. 
     If you are not familiar, Chiari is a condition where the 
     brain protrudes out the back of the head, similar to a 
     herniated disc in the spine. Most times, Chiari requires 
     surgery to relieve pressure out of the head.
       I had lost my health insurance at work and could not afford 
     to get a private insurance during this time. Thankfully I was 
     approved for CHIP. His neurosurgeon nor his endocrinologist 
     ever had any issues accepting CHIP; they didn't have any 
     issues with authorizations for MRIs or bone scans, which he 
     had every few months.
       I am very thankful to have had insurance like CHIP, and I 
     feel there are so many children like my precious son that 
     will suffer if the program ends. I feel some could be 
     detrimental to not only the children but also the parents who 
     are not eligible for Medicaid services. We live in a state 
     where jobs are not so plentiful and the ones we have pay much 
     less than other States.
       I hope WVCHIP is saved.

  This is a mother reaching out, saying that her son was saved because 
of CHIP. She couldn't afford it. She was above the poverty guidelines. 
She was working and trying to make it, and someone told her it might be 
more advantageous to go on welfare. There is still an awful lot of 
pride and dignity in people's lives. They will fight for that dignity, 
and we ought to fight to give them assistance during the toughest 
times.
  I am calling on my colleagues to right this wrong and to reauthorize 
CHIP before we leave for Christmas. There are so many deadlines we are 
trying to make. I know the speed the tax bill is moving through is 
because it is a priority to get done before Christmas. Even though we 
don't have a crisis, even though the stock market is doing greater than 
ever, even though unemployment is lower than ever, there is a timetable 
at warp speed that this is moving through. Yet we have not addressed 
what we need most, which is healthcare for our children. I don't know 
where the urgency is for tax reform that would trump the urgency and 
the need for healthcare for children.
  With that, I urge all of my colleagues to please take a look at this, 
and let's correct this wrong and not go home for Christmas until all 
these children have healthcare.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I yield back all time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the Willett nomination?
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Cochran) and the Senator from Arizona 
(Mr. McCain).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Washington (Mrs. Murray) 
is necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 50, nays 47, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 315 Ex.]

                                YEAS--50

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Shelby
     Strange
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--47

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Donnelly
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Cochran
     McCain
     Murray
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the President 
will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

                          ____________________