U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek hosts Speaker Nancy Pelosi at Miami Health Center to Promote Passage of the State Children's Health Insurance Program

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (D-FL) hosted Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and was joined by U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) at Miami's Jesse Trice Economic Opportunity Health Center to tout the importance of Congress' passage the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) which the President has yet to sign into law.

On October 25th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a revised version of the bipartisan SCHIP bill which provides 10 million American children with health care.

"If America is to have a better, more prosperous future then America's children must have the tools they need to succeed-and that includes health care," said Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "That is why the New Direction Congress passed a passed a bipartisan SCHIP bill that provides health care coverage to 10 million American children from working families. The American people support SCHIP for 10 million reasons: the 10 million children who will receive health care when this legislation becomes law."

SCHIP provides health coverage to children whose parents do not quality for Medicaid, but cannot afford private insurance. SCHIP funds are used to support the KidCare program in Florida.

"It is a history-making event when the Speaker of the House of Representatives comes to the Jessie Trice Center in Liberty City and meets with community leaders, health care practitioners and educators to talk about a vital program that funds health insurance for children from low income families. Speaker Pelosi has pledged that this Congress has a historic opportunity to declare itself 'the children's Congress' and today, she proved exactly that," said Congressman Kendrick B. Meek. "This legislation targets the lowest-income uninsured children for outreach and enrollment, improves SCHIP benefits to include dental coverage and provides states incentives to enroll uninsured low-income children in health coverage programs. If this is not an American value, I don't know what is."

One of the first facilities of its kind in the country, Economic Opportunity Family Health Center (EOFHC) is a national leader in healthcare service. Incorporated in June 1967, EOFHC began providing services in Liberty City the following year. Funding was made available through the Office of Economic Opportunity, which was a direct result of the Equal Opportunity Act signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson as part of the war on poverty.

Today, more than three decades later, EOFHC owns and operates sixteen facilities, including five centers in public schools. A multicultural, multilingual staff serves a diverse clientele of approximately 25,000 individuals who make more than 128,000 visits to the centers each year.

On October 2, the Congress sent the President H.R. 976, the bipartisan State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill. The bill passed by a strong, bipartisan vote of 265 to 159 in the House, and 67 to 29 in the Senate. On October 3, President Bush vetoed this bipartisan bill and the House fell 13 votes shy of the two-thirds majority required to override the President's veto.

U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek represents the 17th Congressional District of Florida which includes parts of Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. He serves as the lone Floridian sitting on the House Committee on Ways and Means and also sits on the House Armed Services Committee.

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