[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26167]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM

  (Mr. COOPER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, President Bush, having vetoed fewer bills 
than almost any President in American history, is now talking about 
vetoing many bills. One of these is the children's health insurance 
bill, the so-called CHIP or SCHIP piece of legislation.
  To veto this bill would be a big mistake. One reason is the Senate 
has already demonstrated it has the votes for an override, and I think 
in the House it's just a question of time until we have the votes to 
override.
  But the key point is this: It's a good bill. And I don't say that 
lightly. I voted against the first version of the SCHIP legislation 
that came through the House. I thought it was unaffordable, and over 
half the bill wasn't for kids at all; it was for senior citizens.
  This bill is tightly focused on poor children. Poor children, only up 
to 200 percent of poverty, not the $80,000 you may have been hearing 
about on talk radio. These are the Tiny Tims of the United States. 
President Bush should not want to play Ebenezer Scrooge in this play.

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