Phil Gingrey: “Unfortunately, their only input into this CHAMP legislation, as the Democrats originally phrased it in their acronym…”

“Unfortunately, their only input into this CHAMP legislation, as the Democrats originally phrased it in their acronym, their only opportunity, the Republican members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, is to be here on the floor during this Special Order hour to try to educate Members on both sides of the aisle. The PAYGO idea was the Democrat's campaign pledge, that if they had a new program or they expanded an existing program, and this is an expansion of an existing program, that they would pay for it. They would pay for it by either cutting spending somewhere else or raising taxes. So this is one of those programs. This is a renewal of a program that has worked very well. It needs some additional funding. I don't think any of us would argue about that. Republicans, as well as Democrats, can support a reasonable renewal and expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program. But this is such a massive expansion that the Democrats found themselves in a bind.”