Statement of Congressman John D. Dingell, Chairman
Committee on Energy and Commerce

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH HEARING ENTITLED, "H.R. 5998, THE 'PROTECTING CHILDREN'S HEALTH COVERAGE ACT OF 2008'"

May 15, 2008

Mr. Chairman, I commend you and Rep. Shea-Porter for introducing H.R. 5998, the "Protecting Children’s Health Coverage Act of 2008”. This bill would strike recent regulations restricting States from covering more uninsured children under their State Children’s Health Insurance program (SCHIP).

Last summer, as Congress was attempting to pass legislation to protect and expand health coverage for millions of children, the Administration adopted policies that undermine existing coverage and make it more difficult for States to move forward to help the uninsured.

Through a directive issued on August 17, 2007, the Administration placed unprecedented restrictions on States seeking to cover children in families with incomes above $44,000 a year.

H.R. 5998 would make clear that the Administration’s August 17th directive has no force or effect. It would also ensure that States that have been denied the ability to cover uninsured children or States that have scaled back initiatives to cover uninsured children as a result of this illegal directive could get new, expedited decisions on their proposals.

The August 17th directive has raised serious policy questions from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Congressional Research Service (CRS), and independent researchers. They question whether this directive is effective in reaching its stated goals of covering more low-income kids and reducing crowd out.

In addition, CRS and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have issued legal opinions that the August 17th directive violated the Congressional Review Act, which sets procedures for Federal agencies to provide notice and the opportunity to comment on changes.

In the meantime, tens of thousands of children are uninsured as a result of the directive and more are at risk in the months ahead. By this August, the provisions in the Administration’s directive will affect at least 23 States and hundreds of thousands of children.

I believe that this bill and this hearing are excellent first steps to start us on the path to remedy the Administration’s unwise actions that would deny healthcare coverage to uninsured children. I look forward to rectifying this matter this year.