News Release

Statement By Mike Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services, on Passage of the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act by the U.S. House of Representatives

I am disappointed that, despite weeks of outreach from this Administration, the Democratic leadership in the House chose to move forward with a massive expansion of SCHIP that the President will have no choice but to veto.

The CHAMP Act will move millions of children from private insurance to public assistance and create a new middle-class entitlement that our country cannot afford. Sadly, this colossal bill not only impacts millions of America's children, it also strikes a major blow to their grandparents. Some $50 billion in cuts to Medicare would result in nearly eight million seniors losing their benefits by 2012.

This action has already delayed the reauthorization of this necessary program and put in jeopardy the health insurance of millions of needy children nationwide. We need a fiscally-responsible bill that the President can sign so SCHIP can be reauthorized. Then we can move forward with solving the problem of how we get not just children, but every American insured.

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Last revised: January 12, 2009