Patty Murray: “back in August, I stood right here on the Senate floor and shared the story of a little girl from my home State. I did…”

“back in August, I stood right here on the Senate floor and shared the story of a little girl from my home State. I did that because I wanted to illustrate why it is our moral obligation as Americans to renew and improve the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. Shortly afterward, the Senate approved the CHIP bill by an overwhelming margin because Senators on both sides of the aisle agreed that all children should be able to see a doctor when they are sick. They supported reauthorizing CHIP because it would reduce the number of uninsured American children by a third. Well, President Bush vetoed it. Now it is 3 months later, and I am frustrated and angry that I have to stand here again talking about CHIP and that we are still trying to get the White House to understand. The supporters of this bill have agreed to a compromise. We want to make this program work. We are back with another bill now that we think meets everyone's needs. So today I come back to the floor to remind President Bush and anyone else who still questions how important it is to approve this program now--about that little girl from Yakima, WA, because it is time for the President to stop blocking her health care.”