Hilda L. Solis: “Today I stand boldly in support of this Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act. Madam Speaker, 800,000 children, as…”

“Today I stand boldly in support of this Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act. Madam Speaker, 800,000 children, as you know, in the State of California are covered by this program. It is essential that we continue to provide that coverage. But many, many low-income and minority children will not be covered because previously this President vetoed our bill twice where we would have taken this farther. Instead of the 6 million that are currently in the program, it would have gone to 10 million children. But we can't talk about that now. But one thing is sure, our constituents, our seniors, are telling us we also need to provide a fix for our doctors because many of our seniors that are on low-income assistance now need to see their doctors, and we know how vitally important that is. Each and every one of us has an obligation to provide support for the very vulnerable in our communities. And I think there is a saying somewhere, maybe in the Bible, that says we will be judged by how we deal with those that are most vulnerable. And those are our frail, elderly and our children. I know we can do better. I also pray that we have better outcomes after 2008, because I do believe that our public, our constituents, are demanding that we step up to the plate on health care.”