On the recordDecember 14, 2017
Children's health is not a partisan issue. It is a human issue. Nevertheless, the majority party let the Children's Health Insurance Program expire months ago. As a result, States across the country are going to be forced to terminate millions of underserved children's only lifeline to a doctor. Rather than working with Democrats, the Republican leadership passed a bill that would extend CHIP, but strip health coverage from as many as 668,000 American children. Partisanship has poisoned this well. Mr. Speaker, nearly 231,000 children in New Jersey rely on CHIP to get them to the doctor. Many more people in my State rely on community health centers, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act's prevention fund to stay healthy. Congress must protect these programs. I urge my colleagues to pass a bill before the end of the year to extend the funding for these critically important healthcare programs, including CHIP and community health centers, without taking healthcare away from more than half a million Americans. ____________________
