[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Page 27660]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise with pity and anger that this 
administration can be so insulated from reality that millions of 
American children will be denied health insurance because of the 
President of the United States and a small minority in the House of 
Representatives.
  There was a critical vote in the House today: whether to override the 
President's veto of the children's health insurance bill.
  Two hundred and eighty six votes were needed to override this veto, 
but we fell 13 votes short: 273 to 156.
  One hundred and fifty six Members of the House of Representatives 
cowered to the President and turned their back on our children.
  They turned their back on almost 4 million kids nationwide who would 
have gotten health care, including 100,000 in my home State of New 
Jersey.
  And they cast these harmful votes against the will of the American 
people.
  Eighty-one percent of the public supports this bill.
  Yet the President's puppets in the House said no. They chose ideology 
over children.
  They choose tax breaks for millionaires over a doctor's visit for a 
sick child.
  They are more than willing to spend $12 billion a month on Iraq, but 
not $7 billion a year for children's health.
  You have to question the moral priorities of those who oppose funding 
children's health care in America.
  Civilized societies take care of their children. I believe we are a 
civilized society. I just think we have the wrong person in the White 
House.
  It is time to put aside ideology and put the needs of American 
families first.
  The only good news today is that the bill on the floor of the Senate 
right now puts families first.
  This Labor-HHS appropriations bill will help children live longer, 
healthier, and more productive lives. It increases Head Start funding, 
medical research gets a boost and we are doing more to support critical 
education programs.
  But despite all of these benefits, President Bush says he will veto 
this bill too.
  I say: ``shame.''

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