Jay Rockefeller: “I would like to take a few moments with my friend Chairman Leahy to discuss the ongoing importance of the Children's…”

“I would like to take a few moments with my friend Chairman Leahy to discuss the ongoing importance of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act's impact on lawfully residing noncitizen children and pregnant women. In that 2009 legislation, States were given the option to provide Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program--CHIP--benefits to these populations without first imposing a waiting period, and many did so as an investment in future generations. Throughout the debate on S. 744, some of my colleagues spent a considerable amount of time seeking to deprive lawfully present noncitizens of the protections of our vital safety net programs. I consider these efforts to be contrary to the value that we, as Americans, place on protecting the most vulnerable among us. Chairman Leahy's leadership has been critical to the passage of this historic legislation in the Senate, and I thank him for being a strong voice in favor of protecting health care benefits for children and pregnant women. As you know, children's health has been one of my top priorities throughout my time in the Senate.…”