MEDIA ADVISORY, Wednesday, October 3, 2007
CONTACT: Yoni Cohen, Stark (202) 225-3202

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Pete Stark (D-CA), Chairman of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, today responded to President Bush’s veto of Congressional legislation to extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

"President Bush is a one-man axis of evil," said Stark. "I am disgusted by his veto of a bipartisan compromise that would have provided care to nearly four million uninsured children. Bush's cruel plan is to underfund CHIP and deny states the flexibility to insure children within their borders. This will not only deny care to children who lack insurance, but also take health care away from than a million children who are enrolled in CHIP today."

"At the same time Bush demands $190 billion more dollars for his failed War in Iraq, he refuses to provide a small fraction of those funds for a successful program for children's health care in America," continued Stark. "If this is ‘compassionate conservativism,’ what is cruel and unusual punishment?"