[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19134]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           SCHIP TAX INCREASE

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, as the body here begins the debate on the 
SCHIP reauthorization plan, separate from Medicaid, I would encourage 
my colleagues not to lose sight of the purpose of this program, which 
is insuring underprivileged children.
  When we created this program in 1997, it was intended to provide 
health insurance for children at or around 200 percent of the poverty 
line. Today in States like Minnesota, almost 40,000 people are enrolled 
in SCHIP; 34,000 of them are adults.
  The Democrats want to expand this program up to 400 percent of the 
Federal poverty line. This type of expansion would allow a family of 
four with an income level of more than $80,000 to be eligible for the 
SCHIP program in some parts of this country.
  Let's get our priorities straight. We want to provide insurance for 
underprivileged children, not adults who can afford to pay for it 
themselves.

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