Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007

CHILDREN'S HEALTH AND MEDICARE PROTECTION ACT OF 2007--Continued -- (House of Representatives - August 01, 2007)

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my extraordinarily generous friend from Michigan, for whom I have not only great respect but great affection as well. I want to thank him for his more than half a century of leadership on issues of health care in America, on extending health care and insurance to every American, to ensuring that in this great country of ours every American has the opportunity to receive the extraordinary quality health care that we have available in this great country.

I also want to thank my good friend, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Charlie Rangel, who has for so many years fought the good fight. As he said on this floor, this is an opportunity for us to extend to children the benefits of health care. I want to mention the President's intent as well.

I want to thank my friend from California, Pete Stark, who has been the Chair of this subcommittee and who has been so faithful.

And I want to thank Mr. McCrery and the ranking member of this subcommittee. I understand we may have a difference of view, but we are working together now, as the American people expect us to do.

I said on this floor last night that we would have a robust debate on this important legislation, the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act. I think we have had that robust debate.

While we may disagree on elements of this bill, I believe that virtually all of us agree that it is unacceptable and, indeed, immoral that millions of children in the wealthiest Nation on the face of the Earth do not have health insurance. That is unlike every industrialized nation in the world, other than ourselves.

This historic legislation addresses this national challenge, building upon the successes of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which received strong bipartisan support in the Republican-led Congress in 1997 and which was signed into law by a Democratic President, President Clinton.

Under this bill, 11 million American children, six million who currently are covered under SCHIP and an additional five million children who currently lack health insurance, will have access to quality, affordable health insurance. It seems to me that is why so many of us serve in this body, to ensure that our people have that access.

Let us be clear. Contrary to the claims of some, including, sadly, at this point in time, President Bush, this legislation does not expand the SCHIP program. Let me repeat that. This legislation does not expand the SCHIP program. Instead, this legislation provides the resources needed to enroll children who are eligible under existing law but who are currently not enrolled. Let me reiterate. The CHAMP Act maintains current law regarding eligibility for SCHIP.

Furthermore, this legislation ensures seniors access to the doctors of their choice by stopping a scheduled 10 percent payment cut to doctors. It phases out overpayments to private plans.

My friends on the other side, of course, want to make sure that the government is very careful in its expenditure of funds, and it urges us to adopt the practices of the private sector, which are driven by competition on price. However, in this case, we have mandated by law that the competitors receive 100 percent reimbursement while the competitors that are favored receive 111 to 130-plus percent. That is a little bit like the prescription drug bill where we can't negotiate for price.

This bill maintains competition and access, and in so doing, the bill would extend Medicare solvency by 3 years, while protecting seniors and people from disabilities from having to pay higher monthly premiums. In addition, my friends, this bill improves Medicare by, among other things, providing new preventive benefits.

I must note, Mr. Speaker, that nearly 3 years ago, in the middle of a presidential campaign, President Bush said the following, and I quote. And this, by the way, was at the 2004 Republican national convention when President Bush was seeking the votes of Americans throughout this country to be reelected President.

This is what he said: ``America's children must have a healthy start in life,'' to which clearly all of us as we watched the television said, Amen. ``In a new term,'' he said, ``we will lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up for government health insurance programs.''

Mr. President, that is what we are doing this afternoon.

But now, unfortunately, a mere 36 months later, the President is threatening to veto legislation that does precisely what he said he wanted to do in 2004 as he was running for President and seeking the votes in that convention.

Mr. Speaker, contrary to the claims of the President and other opponents of this bill, it does not constitute a government takeover of health care. That is a straw man. That is a shibboleth. That is not accurate. In fact, three-fourths of the children in the SCHIP program receive care today through private insurance plans that contract with the States.

Nor is the bill fiscally irresponsible. A curious claim, I would say, coming from the President and congressional Republicans whose policies added more than $3 trillion to the debt. I got a letter just a few days ago, maybe you got it as well, Mr. McCrery, from Secretary Paulson. He said, ``you know, we are running up against the debt limit.''

Does anybody here know in the 4 years preceding this Bush administration's policies how many times we raised the debt? Not once. But we have raised it five times in the last 6 years, if we raise it again.

So when we talk about fiscal responsibility, it is fiscally responsible to invest in the health care of our children, because they will be healthier citizens, more productive citizens, and we will have a better, more economically viable country. In fact, the Democratic majority has taken pains to pay for this legislation and abide by pay-as-you-go budget rules which provided for 4 years of surplus immediately preceding this administration.

Mr. Speaker, in the final analysis, the question before the Members of this body really is this: Do you support reauthorizing this critical program and providing health insurance to eligible children, eligible children, eligible children, or not? I urge my colleagues, vote to provide health care for our children. Vote to improve and protect Medicare. Vote for the CHAMP Act.

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