David Weldon: “I rise as a supporter of the State Children Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which focuses on covering children in…”

“I rise as a supporter of the State Children Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which focuses on covering children in families at or below 200 percent of the poverty level ($41,000 per year). I have voted to extend this program and to provide additional resources to ensure that those living in families below 200 percent of the poverty level ($41,000) have access to affordable health insurance through the SCHIP program. What I cannot support is the Democrat's SCHIP bill, because their bill: 1. Fails to place a priority on first enrolling uninsured children in households earning less than $41,000 per year (200 percent of the federal poverty level); 2. Expands government subsidies to those making nearly $80,000 per year; 3. Spends half of the additional SCHIP dollars to enroll children in the government SCHIP program who were otherwise enrolled in private insurance; and 4. Virtually eliminates all funding for SCHIP beyond 2012 because they have no way to sustain funding for SCHIP beyond that date. It is fiscally irresponsible to expand this program by enticing millions of children in families earning as much as $82,000 per year to drop private coverage and enroll in the SCHIP program that cannot be sustained.”