[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 217]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             THE UNINSURED

  Mr. SMITH. Madam President, I rise today on behalf of the almost 44 
million Americans who have no health insurance. This number has 
continued to grow--last year alone, the number of people who lost their 
insurance grew more than any other year in the past decade. The number 
of uninsured Americans now exceeds the cumulative population of 24 
states and the District of Columbia.
  I know we can reverse this trend because we have done it in the past. 
During my first year in the U.S. Senate, I helped create the State 
Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Today, all 50 States have 
SCHIP programs covering millions of needy children who do not qualify 
for Medicaid.
  Last night in his State of the Union address, President Bush 
highlighted the need to make insurance more affordable for working 
Americans. I couldn't agree more. He also asked Congress to give lower-
income Americans a refundable tax credit to allow millions to buy basic 
health coverage.
  Last year, the President's ten-year refundable tax credit proposal to 
cover the uninsured would have helped up to 14 million people with 
increased access to care: 6 million previously uninsured Americans 
could gain health care insurance and 8 million could improve their 
coverage.
  This would be a great start. But we must act, and we must act now, 
before health insurance coverage erodes even further. Last year, 
Congress set aside $50 billion to cover the uninsured--less than in 
previous years--and once again, Congress failed to act.
  Helping provide health care for working families and children is not 
a partisan issue.
  Having access to health insurance is the best predictor of access to 
health care. Without access to preventive care, millions of people 
suffer needlessly every year, and often require more expensive, less 
effective emergency care.
  But suffering is only part of the equation. Eighteeen thousand 
Americans die every year for lack of access to health care. That 
translates to two people dying every hour because they were uninsured.
  I ask my colleagues to come together to help solve this problem that 
has affected so many of our friends and neighbors. I ask my colleagues 
to make it a priority to preserve and expand access to health care 
coverage in the United States, and I ask that we do it before the end 
of this Congress.
  It is the right thing to do, and the right time to do it. Thank you, 
Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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