Lincoln Chafee: “I intend to vote for the Hatch-Kennedy amendment. It is paid for by a 43-cent-per-pack increase in the Federal excise…”

“I intend to vote for the Hatch-Kennedy amendment. It is paid for by a 43-cent-per-pack increase in the Federal excise tax on cigarettes. We must do everything we can to discourage smoking and to advance good health policy. In my view, this does both. However, in doing so, I want to be very clear about my order of priorities in terms of addressing the children's health crisis in this country. If the Hatch-Kennedy amendment fails, and we do not get any additional spending for children's health initiatives above and beyond the $16.8 billion already included in this budget resolution, I intend to place all of my energies behind strengthening the very cornerstone of our Federal efforts to provide health insurance to poor children-- the Medicaid Program. My first priority will be to work in the Finance Committee to enact the Chafee-Rockefeller-Jeffords-Breaux bill which provide incentives-- not mandates--to encourage States to expand their Medicaid programs to cover all children aged 18 and under, up to 150 percent of poverty.”