Carol Shea-Porter: “I first want to thank Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer and all the Members who are so committed to the SCHIP…”

“I first want to thank Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer and all the Members who are so committed to the SCHIP program. This Congress sent the President very good legislation that would have ensured that millions of low-income children of hardworking Americans could keep health coverage, and it would allow States to enroll millions more who qualified for the CHIP program but aren't covered because the States have not received enough funding. We also had a way to pay for this. But each time, the President has vetoed that legislation, and here in Congress a number of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle continue to stand with the President blocking the way for this vital program to reach more children. We wanted to insure 10 million children. The President and the Republican leaders only want to insure 6 million children. And that is the crux of the problem here. Today, we will extend the SCHIP program through March of 2009, but an important aspect of these earlier bills is not included. This past August, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a directive to State SCHIP directors effectively informing them that they would no longer be able to insure children in families where incomes exceed 250 percent of the poverty level, $43,000 for a family of three. This is a tragedy, and we will fix it.”