Newspapers Call on Congress to Stand Up for America's Children
Newspapers Across The Nation Call On Members of Congress to Stand Up for America's Children
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial (Pennsylvania)
"Cover the Kids: Rep. Peterson's Vote Could Make a Difference," January 23, 2008
"The House of Representatives is expected today to make a second attempt to override President Bush's veto of an expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program, and advocates for it are appropriately putting pressure on a number of Republicans."...But there are more than 7,000 reasons for Mr. Peterson to change his earlier votes. They are the children in his district who don't have health insurance coverage, youngsters who could be helped by a CHIP expansion.
"As Mr. Peterson pointed out in a piece he wrote for this newspaper, "increasing access to quality, affordable health care for our rural communities has been the hallmark" of his 30 years in elected office, counting Congress and the state Legislature. He noted that he was instrumental in formulating Pennsylvania's original CHIP law and was named 2006 Legislator of the Year by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health.
"Mr. Peterson now has an opportunity to improve on that legacy by opening the access to affordable health- care coverage wide enough to let in all of Pennsylvania's and America's children who need it."
Arizona Daily Star Editorial
"House should back SCHIP for children's sake," January 22, 2008
"President Bush has on two occasions vetoed widely supported bipartisan legislation that would have allowed millions of American children living without health insurance a way to get proper medical care. As we have said before, he has chosen ideology over reality."The legislation would have expanded coverage for children under the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP, the federal program states use to cover children whose families make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private health insurance.
"The U.S. House is set to try, again, this week to override Bush's veto. It is imperative that Congress succeed.
Millions of American children who live without health insurance -- kids who can't go to the doctor when they get sick -- are depending on their elected representatives to do what is right. We hope our Arizona delegation will understand how critical it is to expand SCHIP coverage."
Anchorage Daily News Editorial (Alaska)
"Feds curtail coverage," January 12, 2008
"The children's health insurance program is America's best shot at getting health care to kids from working families that can't afford to buy their own policies for their children. They're caught in a gap. People earning a little less could qualify for free care. People earning a little more could afford to buy their own policies."Everyone deserves basic health care. The children's insurance is popular, and the public accepts it. It likely saves money, by encouraging people to get preventive care, rather than waiting until a health problem blows up into an expensive disaster.
"...Congress, which has supported covering more children under SCHIP, needs to persevere with that effort and overturn the administration's Medicaid restrictions as well."
Charlotte Observer Editorial (North Carolina)
"Bush signed health insurance bill that fails kids," January 4, 2008
"The president and a majority of Congress -- including Democrats and Republicans -- waged a political battle royal over expanding the program to cover millions of children who remain uninsured. After twice vetoing bipartisan bills to expand the program, President Bush prevailed with legislation that extends coverage with a small boost in funding through March 2009."The president might have won, but children clearly lost.
"...The irony is too much. Lawmakers who objected to increasing the cigarette tax were in essence protecting a product that is proven to harm a person's health while opposing a program that helps improve a person's health. Go figure. Plus, studies have shown that boosts in cigarette taxes have been a big aid in decreasing the numbers of young people smoking.
"...The expansion bill would have been "excellent" for North Carolina because it would have allowed the state to finally cover all the children eligible...
"N.C. lawmakers who helped kill the bill claim that's all they wanted too. They should fish or cut bait. If they don't have a better alternative, they should back this bill when it comes up again."
Hartford Courant Editorial (Connecticut)
"Children Lose Out Again," December 26, 2007
"Soaring health care costs are a major domestic problem, compounded by the lack of health insurance for 47 million Americans. So it is infuriating that President Bush keeps stubbornly rejecting a bipartisan plan to insure more children."For the second time, he has vetoed a bill that would chip away at the ranks of the uninsured. The bill would have expanded the successful State Children's Health Insurance Program (known in Connecticut as Husky B) to cover 4 million more children for an extra $35 billion over five years.
"...The president continues to characterize the program as welfare for the middle class. He is out of touch with what it takes for working families to afford health care.
"...If Congress can't muster the votes to override Mr. Bush's second veto of the child health care bill, it must act to maintain current levels of enrollment. For that, Congress needs to provide an additional $800 million."
Montgomery Advertiser Editorial (Alabama)
"Bush mimics Grinch at Christmas," December 23, 2007
"For the second time, Bush has vetoed legislation that would reauthorize and expand SCHIP, a joint federal-state program that provides health insurance at affordable rates for children whose parents do not earn enough to afford private insurance but who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid."...Congress responded to Bush's concerns by revising the legislation to push adults out of the program more quickly and to cap the income eligibility for families at three times the poverty rate. But for some reason Bush does not seem willing to compromise on this issue, despite the fact that a coalition of Democrats and Republicans in Congress supported expanding the program to cover more children without access to health insurance.
"...Alabamians should urge their members of Congress to strongly support a modest expansion of SCHIP to cover more children."