[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 204 (Thursday, December 14, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H9926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            REAUTHORIZE CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM

  (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, children's health is not a partisan issue. It 
is a human issue.
  Nevertheless, the majority party let the Children's Health Insurance 
Program expire months ago. As a result, States across the country are 
going to be forced to terminate millions of underserved children's only 
lifeline to a doctor.
  Rather than working with Democrats, the Republican leadership passed 
a bill that would extend CHIP, but strip health coverage from as many 
as 668,000 American children. Partisanship has poisoned this well.
  Mr. Speaker, nearly 231,000 children in New Jersey rely on CHIP to 
get them to the doctor. Many more people in my State rely on community 
health centers, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act's prevention fund 
to stay healthy.
  Congress must protect these programs. I urge my colleagues to pass a 
bill before the end of the year to extend the funding for these 
critically important healthcare programs, including CHIP and community 
health centers, without taking healthcare away from more than half a 
million Americans.

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