Medicare, Medicaid, and Schip Extension Act of 2007

MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND SCHIP EXTENSION ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - December 19, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DOGGETT. Madam Speaker, this pathetic excuse for a Medicare bill is made necessary by a Republican refusal to tackle waste, fraud and abuse. To fulfill an ideological dream, taxpayers are compelled to continue wasting billions of dollars to fund abusive private Medicare Advantage plans run by Bush administration buddies, rather than less expensive, more effective traditional Medicare.

And while doctors are rightly protected from a scheduled payment cut, how about the millions of poor seniors who are cut off from access to extra help for prescription drug coverage? As with so many battles in this Congress, where it is a contest between the poor and a well-financed special interest, guess who gets knocked out?

This shell of a bill actually means that millions of our youngest Americans will still be barred from access to the Children's Health Insurance Program, and, of course, it will enable my State, Texas, to maintain its dubious distinction of being number one, the number one State in the country with children who have no health insurance, due largely to the indifference of then Governor George Bush, now the ``vetoer in chief'' when it comes to children's health insurance.

This House had approved the CHAMP Act. Today, about all that remains of it, thanks to continued Republican obstructionism and one veto after another, is what could be called the CHUMP Act because it reeks of fiscal irresponsibility and social inequity. Something may be better than nothing, but this is barely something. In 18 months we'll correct it.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source