[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 209 (Thursday, December 21, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H10405-H10406]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CHIP IS NOT A BARGAINING CHIP

  (Mr. MEEHAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call on my colleagues on 
both

[[Page H10406]]

sides of the aisle to work together to pass the long-term extension of 
the Children's Health Insurance Program.
  178,000 Pennsylvania children rely on CHIP to get their healthcare, 
thousands of them in my own district. It is a bipartisan program, and 
for decades it has continued to earn bipartisan support.
  The House did its job last month, passing a 5-year extension of the 
program, and I am grateful for Chairman Walden and his leadership and 
support for CHIP. But just a few minutes ago, the House passed an 
extension through March, and that is good, but it is not good enough.
  Unless the House and Senate can reach a real agreement, 
Pennsylvanians and their children will again face the prospect of 
losing their care, and it isn't right to jeopardize kids in the name of 
partisan bickering.
  We have done a lot on the agenda this week: tax reform for the middle 
class, keeping the government open, important tasks. But CHIP is 
important, too, and I say to my friends on both sides of the aisle: 
Don't let this become a bargaining chip. Get it done.

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