    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [October 6, 2007]
    [Pages 1291-1292]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    October 6, 2007

        Good morning. One important commitment of the Federal Government is
    to help America's poorest children get access to health care. Most of
    these children are covered by Medicaid, which will spend more than $35
    billion to help them this fiscal year. For children who do not qualify
    for Medicaid but whose families are struggling, we have the State
    Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP.
        Washington is now in the midst of an important debate over the
    future of this vital program. I strongly support SCHIP. My
    administration has added more than 2 million children to SCHIP since
    2001. And our 2008 budget increases SCHIP funding by 20 percent over 5
    years.
        Unfortunately, more than 500,000 poor children who are eligible for
    SCHIP coverage are not enrolled in the program. At the same time, many
    States are spending SCHIP funds on adults. In fact, based on their own
    projections for this fiscal year, Minnesota, Illinois, New Jersey,
    Michigan, Rhode Island, and New Mexico will spend more SCHIP money on
    adults than they do on children. And that is not the purpose of the
    program.
        This week, congressional leaders sent me a deeply flawed bill that
    would move SCHIP even further from its original purpose. Here are some
    of the problems with Congress's plan. Under their plan, one out of every
    three children who moves onto Government coverage would drop private
    insurance. In other words, millions of children would move out of
    private health insurance and onto a Government program. Congress's plan
    would also transform a program for poor children into one that covers
    children in some households with incomes up to $83,000. Congress's plan
    would raise taxes on working people. And Congress's plan does not even
    fully fund all the new spending. If their plan becomes law, 5 years from
    now Congress would have to choose between throwing people off SCHIP or
    raising taxes a second time.
        Congress's SCHIP plan is an incremental step toward their goal of
    Government-run health care for every American. Government-run health
    care would deprive Americans of the choice and competition that comes
    from the private market. It would cause huge increases in Government
    spending. It would result in rationing, inefficiency, and long waiting
    lines. It would replace the doctor-patient relationship with dependency
    on bureaucrats in Washington, DC. And it is the wrong direction for our
    country.
        Congress knew that I would veto this bill, yet they sent it anyway.
    So on Wednesday, I vetoed the SCHIP bill. And I asked Members of
    Congress to come together and work with me on a responsible bill

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    that I can sign, so we can keep this important program serving America's
    poor children.
        When it comes to SCHIP, we should be guided by a clear principle:
    Put poor children first. I urge Republicans and Democrats in Congress to
    support a bill that moves adults off this children's program and covers
    children who do not qualify for Medicaid, but whose families are
    struggling. If putting poor children first takes a little more than the
    20-percent increase I have proposed in my budget for SCHIP, I am willing
    to work with leaders in Congress to find the additional money.
        Ultimately, our Nation's goal should be to move children who have no
    health insurance to private coverage, not to move children who already
    have private health insurance to Government coverage. By working
    together, Republicans and Democrats can strengthen SCHIP, ensure that it
    reaches the children who need it, and find ways to help more American
    families get the private health coverage they need.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on October 5 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on October 6. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    October 5, but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. In his
    address, the President referred to H.R. 976, the ``Children's Health
    Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007.'' The Office of the Press
    Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this address.