NEWS RELEASE

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

Dingell Rebukes Administration’s
Failure to Support SCHIP

Washington, D.C. – Rep. John D. Dingell, (D-MI), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, responded today to remarks made by President Bush during a town hall meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. During the event, the President characterized the highly successful State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which was enacted by Congress in1997 and must be reauthorized by September 30, as an attempt to “federalize medicine.”

“We now have a historic opportunity - and, I believe, an obligation – to protect the health of America’s children by reauthorizing SCHIP. The program works and has given millions of children access to quality, affordable healthcare. Yet, despite a decade of success, nearly nine million children are currently without health insurance, many of whom would be helped by SCHIP,” said Dingell.

“Clearly, it’s time to do more to protect the health of America’s children by making SCHIP available, not taking it away. I call on this Administration – and every member of Congress – to put partisanship aside and put our children first.”

The Committee on Energy and Commerce will soon take up a bill to reauthorize the SCHIP program.

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