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Dumont, NJ --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, gave the following statement at a joint hearing of the New Jersey Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee on the critical need for Congress to override President Bush's veto of children's health legislation.
"I want to thank Chairmen Vitale and Cryan and Assemblyman Conaway for holding this joint hearing of the Senate and Assembly to discuss the importance of Congress overriding President Bush's veto of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007.
"As a father of three young children, I realize how important it is for children to have access to quality health care. My wife and I are fortunate that we have the means to provide health insurance coverage to our three children through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan, the same program that many of my colleagues use to provide health insurance to their families.
"But not every family is quite as lucky. Far too many New Jersey families are struggling day to day to afford the cost of health insurance. As health care costs continue to rise, employer sponsored insurance is eroding. Employers are shifting more costs to workers, or they are dropping coverage altogether. Nor has the individual market been a viable source of insurance coverage for most Americans. The result has been a steady increase in the number of uninsured Americans since 2001.
"Today, there are nearly forty-seven million Americans who don’t have health insurance---eight-point-seven million of those are children. In a country as wealthy and compassionate as ours, no child should be left behind without health insurance, let alone nearly nine million.
"This disturbing statistic would undoubtedly be worse if it were not for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known here in New Jersey as FamilyCare. Since it was established ten years ago by a Republican controlled Congress and a Democratic president, CHIP has helped reduce the number of uninsured children in our nation. Thanks to CHIP and to FamilyCare, the percentage of low-income children in the United States without health insurance has fallen by one-fourth. More than six million low-income children, most of whom would otherwise be uninsured, are enrolled in CHIP.
"While the program has largely been a success, it is now being threatened. Over the last two years, the number of uninsured children has actually increased. According to the Census Bureau, between 2005 and 2006, 700,000 more children joined the ranks of the uninsured.
"The president's response was a plan that would increase CHIP funding by a total $5 billion over the next five years. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concludes that Bush's plan would lead to more than 800,000 children losing the health care coverage they have today through CHIP.
"This proposal was unacceptable to Democrats and some Republicans in Congress, who wanted to reverse this alarming trend, not make it worse. Since the beginning of the year, we have been working to strengthen the program so that we can reach more uninsured children.
"Last month, the CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2007 passed both the House and the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. It garnered such support because it was compromise legislation that reconciled two different bills that were passed earlier in the year by the House and the Senate.
"The CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2007 increases funding for the children's health program by $35 billion over the next five years. This investment in children's health will allow us not only to meet our commitment to the more than six million children who are already enrolled in the program, but it would also allow us to reach four million more children who are already eligible for CHIP. Under the current reauthorization there is simply not enough money to ensure these children have access to health care coverage. Our bipartisan legislation changes that.
"At a time when we are spending $10 billion every month in Iraq, I would think Congress and the White House could agree that $35 billion for children's health care over the next five years is a wise investment.
"Today, more than 250,000 New Jersey children are uninsured. Everyday, their parents have to worry about how bad an earache, strep throat, toothache or asthma has to get before they finally take them to a hospital emergency room. The president seems satisfied with the status quo. In fact, in the past, he has stated that every American has access to health care because they can always go to the emergency room.
"Last month, I visited an emergency room in my district. It is not a great place for a kid to visit. It is a scene of trauma. Children are forced to share space with people who have overdosed on alcohol or drugs. Most emergency rooms are overwhelmed with real emergencies and have few resources to treat people who need regular family care.
"That is the beauty of CHIP and New Jersey's FamilyCare program. Under these programs, children can see a regular doctor, and that's important. That is also why Democrats and Republicans worked together to craft this legislation in the hopes that President Bush would choose compassion over ideology. We were wrong.
"President Bush makes $400,000 a year. He is guaranteed health care for life. He has a government doctor that is at his immediate call. Yet, this President has denied millions of low-income children and working families the opportunity to get even basic health care.
"Working New Jerseyans understand the struggle families face in affording health care coverage for their children. But the President and a majority of House Republicans appear to be the only people in America who do not understand the challenges these families face or the importance of securing affordable coverage for their children.
"This week, Congress has an opportunity to reverse the president's disgraceful veto. In the Senate, they already have enough support to override the president's veto, but unfortunately we are not quite there yet in the House
"This week, all eyes will be on several dozen House Republicans, including three here in New Jersey, to see if they will once again support President Bush or vote to override his veto of the CHIP bill. It is time for all New Jersey Republicans to join with the Democrats in ensuring that New Jersey children have the opportunity to see a doctor at a doctor's office rather than be forced to wait until a small health concern becomes an emergency.
"This year, we have worked in a bipartisan fashion, to address the concerns of uninsured children. We passed a bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. However, due to President Bush's intransigence we need more Republican help.
"I hope that all three New Jersey Republicans who voted against this legislation last month will recognize the importance of FamilyCare here in New Jersey, and join us in ensuring more New Jersey children have access to meaningful health care.
"Thank you."
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