Bill Pascrell: “It's time, Mr. Speaker, for truth in advertising to correct some of the misinformation being used to justify President…”

“It's time, Mr. Speaker, for truth in advertising to correct some of the misinformation being used to justify President Bush's inexplicable veto of the children's health care bill. The bipartisan Children's Health Care Program reauthorization does not expand the Children's Health Insurance Program; it maintains current law. The agreement is targeted towards State needs. Responsible spending to cover low-income children is incentivized in the bill. The belief that SCHIP will lead to socialized medicine is nothing more than a red herring. The fact is that the bipartisan compromise combines the best of public and private approaches to provide health coverage for children. Now for the biggest lie: Those siding with President Bush's claim that the agreement provides health coverage to illegal immigrant children are also wrong. Undocumented immigrants, illegal immigrants, have never been eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP. Read the bill. Read the law. The bipartisan agreement requires proof of citizenship before enrollment in SCHIP, similar to requirements for the Medicare program. Get it right, tell the truth to the American people, and get on with it.”