Political Quotes

“I am a Member of Congress, but I am also a mom. And as a mom, I am puzzled and, frankly, dismayed because Congress has not found a bipartisan way to provide long-term funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program. More than 9 million children and pregnant mothers, including thousands in Oregon, receive basic health care through CHIP. In the past, this popular program has always had broad bipartisan support. We must do better than the stopgap Band-Aid that is forcing States to rely on short-term funding and, importantly, leaving vulnerable families with uncertainty and with distress. Recently, I met a wonderful family in Oregon that relies on CHIP for the health of their two kids. Their story pulled at my heart. This is David. David is 5, and his brother, Jacob, is 20 months old, and both children have neurological conditions. Both require long-term medical care. David battles a life-threatening form of epilepsy that requires expensive medications as well as regular physical and occupational therapy. Their mom, Renee, fears the worst. I spoke with her and their pediatrician, and she told me that, without long-term funding to support Medicaid and CHIP, she said: ``David could die. It's that simple.'' Mr. Speaker, this is about real people, and their lives are on the line. Funding CHIP is a good investment. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office recently predicted that a 10-year reauthorization of CHIP would actually save the Federal Government $6 billion.…”