Joe Barton: “I hope that the Members in the Chamber actually listened to the reading of the Clerk, because those that did will agree…”

“I hope that the Members in the Chamber actually listened to the reading of the Clerk, because those that did will agree with me on the following things. First of all, we have taken the 293-page bill that we got at approximately 7 p.m. last evening and left most of it untouched. We have changed approximately 15 pages of a 293-page bill. We have listened carefully to our friends on the majority side at what they say they want, and we have tried to implement those changes in this motion to recommit. We start out with the fact that our friends on the majority side agree with us that SCHIP should be for the poor and the near-poor in American society. This motion to recommit eliminates the loophole for income-disregards that would allow States to actually cover children and families in all probability well above 300 percent. So we have an elimination action in this motion to recommit that would eliminate that loophole.”