Smith Statement on House Passage of SCHIP Legislation
Press Release
Smith Statement on House Passage of SCHIP Legislation
Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) today released the following comments after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3963, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act. The bill reauthorizes and significantly expands the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), while increasing cigarette taxes by 61 cents to offset the bill's cost.
An earlier version of the legislation, H.R. 976, was vetoed by President Bush. His veto was sustained by the House of Representatives by a vote of 273-156.
"Rather than taking the opportunity to craft legislation which would pass overwhelmingly on an important program like SCHIP - a program I support along with nearly every other member of Congress - today we voted on a bill with very little substantive changes from the previous version and which still fails on several fronts.
"Unfortunately, sound public policy sometimes takes a backseat to headline grabbing, and I fear that is where this debate is headed. Today's vote proved, once again, the House does not have the votes to override a Presidential veto. Again, I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to sit down with each other and the President and come to a compromise which can be signed into law.
"We need a bill that truly targets health care to the neediest, guarantees illegal immigrants do not have access to federal benefits, and does not raise taxes," Smith said.
The SCHIP was established under The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to provide health coverage to uninsured children who would not otherwise qualify for Medicaid.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, under H.R. 3963, two million new individuals would opt out of private health insurance plans in order to receive government health insurance. The bill also has been criticized for substantially weakening the requirements individuals applying for the program must fulfill to prove citizenship or nationality.
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