[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4642]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         CHILDREN'S HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. CARSON of Indiana asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, on Sunday I held a children's 
health care rally at the Martin Luther King Community Center in 
Indianapolis, Indiana, and met with parents like Brandy Briscoe. Brandy 
goes to school full time and is raising her 2-year-old son, Elijah. 
When he was born, he had no health insurance. Today, thanks to the 
State Children's Health Insurance Program, Elijah and 130,000 other 
children in Indiana have the health care they need and deserve.
  We know that Elijah and Brandy are two of the lucky ones. In Indiana, 
tens of thousands of children don't have health care. Their parents 
wonder what they will do if their child gets sick and needs a doctor. 
These parents and their children are counting on us to act.
  So, on Sunday, I pledged to my constituents that I would be a voice 
for children and families and will continue to fight to cover more 
children through the Children's Health Insurance Program. I make this 
pledge with the knowledge that this House has worked long and hard on 
children's health care in the past. But we cannot let these 
difficulties dissuade us from doing right by our children.
  I am proud today to cosponsor the Children's Health First Act, and I 
look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to craft the 
kind of compromise that moves us forward into the future.

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