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Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, issued the following statement after hearing that the Bush administration's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent surveys out to the states asking how they would deal with the children enrolled in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) if the program is not reauthorized by September 30th of this year.
"The Democratic Congress has every intention of sending President Bush a bill that reauthorizes the Children's Health Insurance Program by September 30th. I am confident the final bill will allow us to reach millions of children who are already eligible for the program but who are not currently enrolled.
"In his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in 2004, President Bush said that he would 'lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up for the government's health insurance programs.' Rather than planning for failure, President Bush should remember that promise and join us in supporting a bill that will significantly reduce the number of uninsured children. It's time for the political stunts to end."
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