Phil Gingrey: “What the gentleman is saying, and I thank the gentleman for yielding once again, because the Democrats are determined…”

“What the gentleman is saying, and I thank the gentleman for yielding once again, because the Democrats are determined, Mr. Speaker, to increase this funding to a point that they get 4 million additional children covered under this SCHIP program. Under the current law, about 6.5 million children in this country, I think close to 300,000 in my great State of Georgia, are covered under the program. There may be 750,000 kids in that income range of 100 to 200 percent of the Federal poverty level up to $42,000 a year for a family of four, as was pointed out early in the discussion, there may be 750,000 kids that have fallen through the cracks. That is why the President said let's renew the program and increase the funding by 20 percent. A 20 percent increase is not chicken feed, Mr. Speaker. That is a lot of money. But what the gentleman from Arizona is referring to in regard to this cliff, if you all of a sudden try to cover an additional 4 million, where are those kids coming from? Well, they are coming from families who already have health insurance for their kids in the private market. Of course, if you get an opportunity, who wouldn't?…”