Gus Bilirakis: “I want to thank Chairman Walden and Chairman Burgess for all of the hard work they put into reauthorizing CHIP. This is…”

“I want to thank Chairman Walden and Chairman Burgess for all of the hard work they put into reauthorizing CHIP. This is a 6-year reauthorization of the CHIP program, the longest CHIP reauthorization Congress has ever passed. The House already passed a full CHIP authorization last year. By the way, we also reauthorized the community health centers. Most Democrats voted against that. Democrats need to put politics aside and support the bill for the sake of our children. CHIP reauthorization will ensure funding for 200,000 children in Florida's CHIP program. In addition, this bill has my legislation that protects CHIP buy-in programs. This allows children who aren't eligible for traditional CHIP to buy into the CHIP program. It makes sense. Inconsistent guidance from CMS jeopardized these buy-in programs. This bill will provide clarity and protect about 12,000 children in the State of Florida who participate in the buy-in program. Mr. Speaker, I support this particular bill. Please, let's reauthorize CHIP for the sake of our children.”