Wilson Says Temporary Budget Bill Provides Time for Kids Health Insurance and NM Lab Budgets
Continuing Resolution Will Fund Fed Programs Through November
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Heather Wilson voted today to extend a life-line to children’s health insurance, and to New Mexico’s national laboratories.
H.J.Res. 52 will fund government programs through November 16, 2007. Because the current appropriations Acts expire on September 30, 2007, this Continuing Resolution (CR) is necessary to avoid a government shutdown on the first of October. Wilson says this CR extends a number of programs that are expiring at the conclusion of this fiscal year, most notably the State Children’s Health Insurance Program which the House voted to reauthorize on Tuesday night.
“This continuing resolution funds our labs at last year’s budget level. This will give us time to fix the mess the House created in its version of the Energy and Water Appropriations bill,” says Wilson. “Our adversaries and potential adversaries are modernizing their nuclear deterrents, but, with this House budget, the US would abandon our efforts to do so. The United States should make sure that our nuclear weapons stockpile is safe, secure and reliable.”
“The House-passed budget would be devastating to New Mexico. Job losses would be higher than originally predicted and we will stop making replacement parts for our existing weapons and stop programs to design safer and more reliable versions of the ones that remain,” says Wilson.
The Continuing Resolution also extended the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Wilson also says families in New Mexico can rest easy that their New MexiKids health insurance will not suddenly go away on Monday, even if the President vetoes the SCHIP reauthorization bill the House passed Tuesday night. Wilson still says the President should sign the bill.
“The Children’s Health Insurance Program was created 10 years ago and has reduced the number of uninsured children by nearly 25%,” says Wilson. “It’s a program that works and helps provide coverage for children through private health plans. The bill we passed Tuesday is a bipartisan compromise that was worked out over a number of weeks, and I hope the President will sign it. It is a significant investment in our children’s future.”
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