Jon L. Christensen: “in a recent column, Washington Post columnist EJ Dionne opened with a statement: ``Perhaps the White House and Congress…”

“in a recent column, Washington Post columnist EJ Dionne opened with a statement: ``Perhaps the White House and Congress might just take a little time away from war planning to consider what the economic downturn has been doing to poor Americans, especially the working poor.'' Mr. Speaker, we are talking about the leaders of this country and this body who have the votes and, therefore, the responsibility. Certainly they must know that in the last year alone the number of uninsured increased more than 1.4 million; that poverty rates are up for the first time in 8 years; that 1.8 million jobs have been lost; and that thousands of people in this country have seen their retirement savings disappear. In the health care arena, the impact is hard now and likely to be devastating as time goes by. Already 41 States are cutting Medicaid programs this year. That means that people are losing coverage and children are the hardest hit. This is happening at the worst time because with the economic downturn, 2.3 million more Americans were unemployed in August of 2002 compared with July the year before. The saying that when the rest of the world gets a cold, minority communities and our territories get pneumonia is holding true. As of 2001, of the 41 million uninsured, 18 percent were Asian Pacific Islanders; 19 percent African American; and more than a third, 33.8 percent, were Hispanic. Thirty-eight percent of the people in my district were uninsured.”