Washington, DC (October 25, 2007) – Today Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) released the following statement applauding the passage of the Children’s Health Insurance bill by the House of Representatives. Earlier this month, the President vetoed a previous version of the bill that would have provided health care coverage to 10 million low-income American children.

Republicans claimed that the vetoed measure would have covered undocumented immigrants, adults, and children from high-income families. Today’s compromise effectively addresses those complaints by clarifying rules to verify citizenship, phasing out childless adults within one year, and ensuring that no families earning above 300 percent of the poverty level receive SCHIP benefits. The new bipartisan comprise also still provides quality, affordable health care to 10 million low-income kids. The Senate is expected to consider the legislation next week.

Hinojosa said:

“SCHIP is critical to our nation’s interests and to the millions of children whose families cannot afford health insurance. In Texas, over twenty percent of our children—approximately 1.4 million kids—are currently not covered. Our state is home to more uninsured children than anywhere in the nation. This is a moral travesty and an unacceptable failure of our nation’s leadership.

“The SCHIP program invests in our children and our future. It cost-effectively insures kids so that fewer taxpayer dollars have to go toward emergency room treatments – the most expensive way to care for a child’s health. In Texas, this bill would make sure that nearly 1 million children receive the care they need, including 440,000 eligible kids who still live day-to-day without access to health care.

“The President has already demonstrated his unwillingness to make this commitment to America’s children once.  No one should withhold healthcare from children in order to score cheap political points or to make divisive partisan attacks.  I urge the President and my colleagues in the Senate to join together in support of American families and quickly make sure that SCHIP becomes law.”