Congressman Charles B. Rangel made the following statement on the floor of the House of Representatives in support of overriding President George W. Bush's veto of the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP):
"I stand in support of overriding the President’s veto, not for the reasons given by Chairman Dingell - that it’s the right and moral position - because that has existed all of the time and yet we’ve been unsuccessful.
But I would say to the gentleman from Texas that since the last time this has come up, the President has admitted we are going toward a recession and that economy may be jeopardized unless the Congress supported a stimulus package. It would just seem to me that if it has been recognized that our states are going to go into deficit, our governors are going to have serious problems. That [if] it is very possible, if not likely, that services for our kids will be further cut under Medicaid, [then] it would seem to me that a legitimate argument could be made that by providing care for these 11 million children. It allows the parents to know that they’ll be able to be more productive knowing that their kids are covered by health insurance.
It’s sad that the poor now have to be used merely as a vehicle to stimulate our economy but had we taken care of these people during the 'robust' economic times, perhaps we’d be not going through this struggle. So it occurs to me that this is another opportunity that the minority would have, not just to do the moral thing but to [also] do the economic thing. To be of some assistance to the governors who are screaming out for the continuation of this program, indeed the expansion of it.
We're not just talking about adults being restricted, we're talking about adults being in a better chance to be productive knowing that their kids are being taken care of. So we do have this new opportunity for the minority to rethink their position and to do it again because it is the economic thing to do. To know that [in] being able to deduct serious illnesses, sight problems, hearing problems for our children at an early age, we're really strengthening the economy.
So we don't have to pay for these health setbacks and sometimes detection of chronic diseases at a later stage.
Instead of talking compassion, which obviously is not a compelling argument on the other side, lets talk economically and ask the question of economists: Whether or not expanding preventive care for children and healthcare is really strengthening the economy and saving money for the future.
With all the restrictions -- keeping illegal aliens out and making certain that adults don't participate, all those things that make you [Republicans] feel good -- we'll go along with as we have in the past. But let's make certain that every child can be treated, would be treated."
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