Bush and Congressional Republicans Have Misplaced Priorities: War Over Children's Health

Floor Speech

BUSH AND CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS HAVE MISPLACED PRIORITIES: WAR OVER CHILDREN'S HEALTH -- (House of Representatives - October 02, 2007)

(Mr. ELLISON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, last week Democrats and Republicans came together here in Congress to pass a bipartisan bill that will ensure that 10 million low-income children have access to private health care insurance. The bill would invest $35 billion more over the next 5 years in the Children's Health Insurance Program. It's fully paid for, as this Congress has vowed to pay as we go.

Despite receiving strong bipartisan support here in Congress, President Bush is threatening to veto this legislation. He says the bill is simply too big. Instead, the President proposes a $5 billion funding increase that the nonpartisan CBO concludes would force 800,000 children to lose their health insurance.

Talk about misplaced priorities. President Bush didn't bat an eye when the Pentagon said that it needed as much as $200 billion, with a ``b,'' over the next year to continue the war in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, President Bush has no problem sending billions of dollars to Iraq every day, but doesn't seem inclined to support an investment in children's health care here in the U.S. Talk about misplaced priorities.

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