[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 20327]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   CHIP AND COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS

  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, on a different subject, talking about 
keeping promises; that is, other people who are counting on us to be 
able to act in order to get their healthcare.
  We have had 81 days since the funding ended for the Children's Health 
Insurance Program and community health centers. Each State is a little 
different because of the various combinations of funding and so on, 
which meant not everyone lost care immediately right after. There are 
three States this month, others in the first of the year, and so on.
  I literally received just a few moments ago a notice from our State 
saying it is very likely that if we don't act, in January, families in 
Michigan are going to get a notice that what we call MIChild, which 
provides healthcare for 100,000 children in Michigan of working 
families who don't qualify for help through Medicaid or other 
assistance--they are working and maybe at work they are getting 
healthcare, but it doesn't cover their children, or maybe they are not 
getting healthcare, and they want to at least be able to cover their 
children, that is what MIChild is all about.
  It has been 81 days since the deadline of September 30, which stopped 
the Federal funding from going forward. This affects 9 million children 
nationwide and 100,000 children in Michigan. In addition to that, 
community health centers across the country serve 25 million patients 
every year; 300,000 of them are veterans, and 7.5 million of them are 
children.
  I had the opportunity last Friday to visit two wonderful facilities--
one in Flint, which is in Genesee County, and one in western Wayne 
County--and see the great work they do and talk to some of the people 
who were there to get care. People are counting on community health 
centers and they are counting on the Children's Health Insurance 
Program in order to make sure they have the care they need for 
themselves and their families.
  It is important that we act. We could act right now. This is 
bipartisan. We passed a bipartisan bill out of the Finance Committee in 
September, before the deadline. I want to thank the chairman, Senator 
Hatch, and the ranking member, Senator Wyden. I was pleased to join 
with them. We passed it out of committee with only one ``no'' vote. We 
have bipartisan support to get this done. Senator Blunt and I offered a 
bill that is bipartisan and has had the support of 70 Members of this 
body in signing a letter saying to continue funding for community 
health centers.
  Our plan all along was to pass the children's health insurance bill 
out of committee in September and add health centers and then pass it 
before the deadline so that it would take away the anxiety, worry, and 
fear that families now have about what is going to happen.
  Every day that goes by, people are worried about what is going to 
happen. Are they going to be able to take their child to the doctor, be 
able to get their asthma treatments, handle their juvenile diabetes, 
cancer treatments, or the normal things that happen to kids every day?
  I am not sure if there will be any votes today. We could, today, pass 
the Children's Health Insurance Program and community health centers 
and let families across America know they are going to be able to have 
the medical care they need for themselves and their children coming 
into the new year.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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