NEWS RELEASE

Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman

Dingell Responds to White House Plan for
Under-Funding SCHIP

Administration Proposal Would Deny Health Coverage
to Millions of Children

Washington, D.C. – Rep. John D, Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, responded today to President Bush’s remarks on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The President claimed that the Administration’s budget proposal for children’s health insurance funding will not cause American kids to lose their health care coverage.

“For more than a decade, SCHIP has given millions of children access to quality, affordable health care coverage. Yet, despite the program’s success, and the fact that nine million of our nation’s children are currently uninsured, Congressional Republicans want to roll back health coverage for our kids,” said Dingell. “It appears the President has now jumped on that bandwagon, lambasting Democratic efforts to prevent more children from becoming uninsured and proposing that we eliminate SCHIP coverage for children in families earning just $34,512 a year.”

“It’s a disgrace that, instead of working to protecting the health of our kids, the White House is offering up unrealistic tax proposals that would leave fewer middle class families with health coverage. The President doesn’t seem to mind ‘government-run health coverage’ when it comes to his own insurance. It’s time this Administration realizes that ordinary Americans need and deserve affordable health coverage, too.”

SCHIP currently provides health insurance for six million lower and moderate-income children and must be reauthorized by September 30, 2007. The Committee on Energy and Commerce will begin conducting hearings focused on SCHIP’s reauthorization following the July 4th recess.

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