For Immediate Release
January 14, 2009

Contact: William Marshall, Jr.
(202) 225-7924

Congresswoman Laura Richardson Joins House Colleagues in Passing One of President-Elect Obama’s First Bills He Will Sign and Put Our Children First.

WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Laura Richardson voted to support America’s children by voting for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP). 

“S-CHIP will assist many families that have been hardest hit by the failing economy.  While states are downsizing their healthcare services, this legislation seeks to provide affordable healthcare instead of over extending our emergency rooms.”
 
The bill received overwhelming support and passed the House by a vote of 289-178.  The Senate will vote on the bill within the next few days and forward it on to the new President.

In California, there is a $40 billion budget deficit and funds for Medicaid are in jeopardy.  “Just in Long Beach alone, over 38% of young people, under 18 years of age, have no health insurance.  Most of these children’s parents don’t have insurance, or they don’t know about state’s healthcare programs.”

S-CHIP was created in 1997 to provide heath care coverage for households that earn too much to receive Medicaid and earn too little for private health insurance. The bill will cover an additional 4 million uninsured children, and reauthorizes the legislation through 2013.

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