On the recordNovember 3, 2017
The Children's Health Insurance Program began as a truly bipartisan initiative, but now it is being overwhelmed by Republican indifference. So low is it on their priority list that they let the law expire. Three States have already required emergency funding, and 400,000 Texas children are at risk if this program is not continued. In the face of this crisis, their response is: We won't put another new dollar into this program unless we take it from Medicare beneficiaries. Why should we begin calling on those who rely on Medicare to pay for non-Medicare purposes? It is wrong. The second way they propose to fund this bill is by reducing funding for public health and prevention, whether it is for Zika and West Nile virus, where I live down in Texas, or it is for the opioid crisis, which is affecting our State like every other one. Sure, we are glad to hear President Trump do a tweet and give a speech. But he did not add any new dollars to fight this opioid crisis. We need bold action, and it is not by reducing the Prevention and Public Health Fund. It is by supporting our children.
