Democrat Congressional Leadership’s New Plan Still Doesn’t Put Poor Children First
The Democrat Congressional Leadership’s new SCHIP bill continues to reject President Bush’s calls to put poor children first and still increases spending 121%. The New York Times wrote that the revised bill contains only “minor” changes. A bill with major problems needs more than “minor” changes.
Nancy Pelosi claims the new bill “addresses all the concerns” expressed over the first bill, but this is false. The Democrat Congressional Leadership’s new SCHIP bill still:
– Repeals the requirement that 95% of children below 200% of the poverty level are covered before children in higher income families are covered;
– Covers children in families earning more than $62,000 per year;
– Permits States to keep adults on the program through 2012;
– Moves 2 million children from private health insurance to government-run programs;
– Allows SCHIP to cover ineligible individuals and imposes NO sanction if a person fraudulently attests to being a U.S. citizen;
– Raises taxes and includes a major funding shortfall after the first five years.
President Bush has stated that he will veto this bill if it reaches his desk. We hope the Democrats stop playing politics and send the President a bill that puts poor children first and avoids increasing taxes and moving children from private to government coverage.
Nicholas Thompson
Office of Strategic Initiatives
The White House