Legislation Funds BadgerCare
Likely to be One of the First Bills Signed into Law by President Obama
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin today joined a strong majority of her colleagues in the House in passing (289-139) bipartisan legislation to provide health care to 11 million children in modest-income families. Legislation to reauthorize funding for the States Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was passed twice in the 110th Congress and vetoed both times by President Bush. President-elect Obama is expected to make this one of the first bills he signs into law on taking office.
“I’m proud of my colleagues for again passing this legislation in bipartisan fashion and I look forward to working with a President who shares my commitment to making health care available to all Americans, especially our most vulnerable children,” said Congresswoman Baldwin. “In our current economic and health care crises, middle class children are the forgotten victims. Working parents must not be driven into bankruptcy by high medical bills, nor should their children go without medical care. We need to expand coverage to more kids and we need to help states cover all families in need.,” Baldwin said.
This bipartisan bill (H.R. 2) reauthorizes the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) through FY 2013 and preserves the coverage for all 7.1 million children currently covered by SCHIP, including more than 62,000 children in Wisconsin.
The bill also extends health care coverage to 4.1 million additional low-income children, who are currently uninsured.
The bill is fully paid for – raising the tobacco tax by 61 cents. Raising the tobacco tax also promotes children’s health – by discouraging children from smoking. According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a 61-cent increase in the tobacco tax means that 1,873,000 fewer children will take up smoking.
