Jay Rockefeller: “I am very happy that the chairman of the Finance Committee made the comments he just did because I was absolutely bowled…”

“I am very happy that the chairman of the Finance Committee made the comments he just did because I was absolutely bowled over by the comments which preceded him from the other side of the aisle. It is sort of basic when you say the word ``universal.'' It means everybody, but it does not necessarily mean it has to be run by the Federal Government, and anybody who makes that kind of an error is either really playing politics or really needs to go to grad school. In any event, this program is totally optional. And there is nothing about it which--in fact, several of the previous speakers said that States could do this and States could do that, but on the other hand it was all Government run, so therefore how could the States do it on their own? It is sort of a sad argument. Several months ago, four Senators--two Republicans and two Democrats--stood in a room, shook hands, and made a promise to each other. It was a wonderful moment. We vowed not only to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program for millions of kids who rely on it for basic medical care but also to reach out to millions more children. Today, these many months later, we are one step closer to making the promise into a reality for nearly 10 million children.”