Orrin Hatch: “Today, Senators Rockefeller, Chafee, Kennedy, and I are introducing legislation to make certain that States have…”

“Today, Senators Rockefeller, Chafee, Kennedy, and I are introducing legislation to make certain that States have adequate funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, otherwise known as CHIP. I cosponsor this legislation to reflect my concern that, unless the Congress addresses this issue, thousands of children may risk losing their health insurance coverage. CHIP has proven to be an enormously popular program, which has provided much needed health insurance to literally millions of low-income children. It helps the poorest of the poor families who are not Medicaid-eligible. We cannot afford to stand back now and watch those efforts be undermined because of funding problems that Congress should correct. That is the intent, as I understand it, of the Rockefeller-Chafee bill. As most of my colleagues are aware, when CHIP was established in 1997, Congress committed $20 billion over five years and a total of $40 billion over 10 years for the program. For each fiscal year 1999 through 2001, Congress allocated $4.3 billion; yet for the fiscal years 2002 through 2004, Congress allocated $3 billion per year for CHIP programs. This so-called 'CHIP' dip may reduce funding levels in States that are just beginning to ramp up their programs.”