Steve Kagen: “Thank you, Mr. Ellison, and thank you, Ms. Clarke. This is a very difficult hour to be with you. I cannot tell you how…”

“Thank you, Mr. Ellison, and thank you, Ms. Clarke. This is a very difficult hour to be with you. I cannot tell you how much it hurts me, how much it hurts the children of Wisconsin, of New York State, of Minnesota, and all the children throughout the country who don't know yet that their President has left them behind, that the President has turned away from children in need. What we are talking about is the difference between seeing a physician and gaining access to good health and not. Those children that don't get health care don't get well. When you are sick in school, you cannot learn. You cannot progress. You cannot move up into the middle class. This bill, the SCHIP bill, and the veto by this President, a President who no longer represents traditional American values, he does not represent our values, this is a stark contrast between the two parties today. It really asks the question, whose side are we on? I am a Democrat. I am proud to be a Democrat. We are on the side of people who are in need. It is the role of government, isn't it, to care for those who are in need? Not just Hubert Humphrey. It goes back 2,000, 5,000 years, into all of our cultures, into all of our religious beliefs, into all that we hold spiritually sacred. We must care for those who are in need. The SCHIP bill has been lied about by many politicians. Some have said it's going to cover illegals. That's a lie. There are no illegal human beings, no illegal citizens covered in SCHIP.”