[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 25720]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              GOP GOVERNORS ABANDON PRESIDENT BUSH ON CHIP

  (Mr. SIRES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, last week President Bush once again 
threatened to veto a bipartisan agreement that will provide health care 
insurance to 10 million low-income children. The President should talk 
to our Nation's Governors, 43 of whom have voiced support for a 
strengthened CHIP reauthorization.
  The Republican Governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman, said, ``CHIP is a much 
needed safety net for uninsured kids, and Congress showed tremendous 
foresight in authorizing it a decade ago. Uninsured children are the 
State's number one priority.''
  The Republican Governor of Wisconsin, Tim Pawlenty, said, ``We as 
Governors also want to make sure that the current population, and 
hopefully some reasonable expansions, could be covered.''
  In addition, the Republican Governor of California, Arnold 
Schwarzenegger said, ``We cannot roll back the clock on the program 
that has helped to ensure children who need it most to have a healthy 
start in life.''
  Mr. Speaker, Republican and Democratic Governors alike recognize the 
importance of this program. I hope the President will listen to these 
Governors and reconsider his veto threat.

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