Marsha Blackburn: “I think that, I would hope, that not only my colleagues but the American people realize that this bill today contains a…”

“I think that, I would hope, that not only my colleagues but the American people realize that this bill today contains a $72 billion tax increase on the American people, what Congressional Research Service calls the most regressive of taxes, because it is tobacco taxes. But this is a tax increase that is coming full steam ahead at us. And, Madam Speaker, it is not there to go into a program that we all originally supported the way SCHIP was originally set up. This expanded SCHIP goes to middle-income children; it does not focus on low income and uninsured children. That is a sad day for us. Indeed, part of the 900,000 children that are expected to be added already have access to health insurance. I would encourage all of my colleagues to vote against the tax increase and vote 'no.'”