[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 27825]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HEALTH CARE FOR CHILDREN

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Members, recently this House 
passed by 220-215 the historic health care reform bill, H.R. 3962, the 
Affordable Health Care for America Act. This legislation will have 
profound impact on the uninsured children in our country. In 2008, an 
estimated 64.1 percent of all children in the Nation had private 
coverage, 28.3 percent had public coverage, and 9.9 percent were 
uninsured.
  But in Texas, we have 1.5 million children uninsured, giving us the 
distinction of having the highest number of uninsured children in the 
country. This is largely due to the State's refusal to fund State 
matching funds for the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. In 
2008, 26.8 percent of the children in our district were uninsured, the 
third highest for uninsured children in the Nation.
  H.R. 3962 provides sliding scale subsidies to families with incomes 
of up to 400 percent of the poverty line, which would not be dependent 
upon State budget decisions, as in the case of SCHIP. Funding for the 
affordability credits would not be capped and would rise automatically 
when needed.
  We have an obligation to provide health benefits to our children and 
H.R. 3962 will ensure that all plans provide an essential benefits 
package that includes comprehensive benefits such as vision, hearing 
and dental care for children as well as well-baby and well-child care.

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