On the recordOctober 4, 2017
Today I rise in disbelief that this Congress has shamefully allowed the Children's Health Insurance Program, CHIP, to expire earlier this week. CHIP provides healthcare to 8.9 million low-income children in our country and to over 2 million children in my home State of California. My Republican colleagues have spent all their time and energy this year fighting to repeal healthcare for millions of Americans covered by the Affordable Care Act, and now they have failed to protect healthcare for our country's children. If we do not act quickly, it could soon lead to States not enrolling children and potentially even denying them coverage altogether due to the lack of funding. It is critical that we fund the CHIP program without delay and provide certainty to these families that they will not lose their health coverage because of this irresponsible and derelict congressional inaction. ____________________
