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Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, praised President Obama today for signing H.R. 2, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, into law. The New Jersey congressman is the author of the new law, which was passed earlier today in the House by a vote of 290 to 135. This afternoon, Pallone attended the bill signing at the White House and issued the following statement afterwards:
"Today, President Obama delivered real change to Washington by signing legislation into law that will ensure 11 million American children have access to quality health insurance through the Children's Health Insurance Program.
"For two years, Congress sent similar bills to President Bush's desk. The bills had received strong bipartisan support in Congress, but President Bush used his veto pen twice, denying millions of low-income children access to health care.
"Thanks to this landmark law, four million more American children will have the opportunity to see the doctor of their choice so that they can live healthy and productive lives. In New Jersey, we will be able to reach an additional 116,000 children through FamilyCare, reducing the percentage of uninsured children by 43 percent.
"I commend the president for his unwavering support of our nation's children, and look forward to working with him on other health care issues in the months and years ahead."
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