Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009

Floor Speech

CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009-- (House of Representatives - January 09, 2009)

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong, unwavering, and steadfast support of the reauthorization of SCHIP to provide healthcare for millions of uninsured children. SCHIP is a critical safety net for children. As Chief Justice Thurgood Marshall once said, ``The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis.'' Providing healthcare for low-income children, especially during this economic crisis, reflects a commitment to the least among us as well as sound economic policy. A healthy child is prepared for school and life. A healthy child does not require costly emergency room visits. I applaud House leaders for including mental health parity and dental coverage for children.

In Fiscal Year 2007, SCHIP provided health care to over 345,000 children in Illinois. Unfortunately, due to overwhelming need, Illinois faced a shortfall in federal spending last year. This bill does much to address this gap. Specifically, in addition to preserving coverage for the 7 million children currently in the program, this bill expands coverage to another 4 million children in need.

I want to briefly mention the efforts of Chicago Public Schools in helping low income families overcome many of the barriers that often prevent them from enrolling in SCHIP. The Children and Family Benefits Unit assisted approximately 60 schools in a recent 12 month period, helping over 4,200 families' complete applications to enroll into the Illinois CHIP, including Medicaid. I am proud of this effort in Chicago, and I am pleased that this bill will continue to support such programs.

In closing, this bill will provide much-needed health care for low-income children in Chicago, Illinois, and the nation, and I look forward to this bill being signed into law in the near future.

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