Press Release
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact: Jennifer Kohl 202.225.4289 or 202.225.4025 Trudy Perkins 410.685.9199 or 202.225.4641 |
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| Ten Million Reasons for America to Be Disappointed | |||
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Washington, DC—Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) released the following statement today regarding the failure of the House of Representatives to override President Bush’s veto on the reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP):
“Children are our living messages that we send to a future we will never see. Today, Congress was faced with the opportunity to send a message of responsibility and compassion. Unfortunately, some of my colleagues chose instead to send a message of political maneuvering—at the expense of our children. It is unconscionable that anyone would stand against the bipartisan, successful Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the President and those members of Congress who voted to support his veto should all be ashamed. I was truly disgusted by those members who actually cheered when today’s veto override was defeated.
“I can think of ten million reasons for the American people to join me in expressing disappointment with President Bush and those who chose to join him in playing politics with the lives of one of our most vulnerable populations. Each one of these reasons is a child whose ability to see a doctor when he or she is sick has now been put in jeopardy.
“For the people in my home state of Maryland, these 10 million children all have a face and a name: Deamonte Driver. Deamonte was a young boy who died when a tooth infection spread to his brain. Although a simple $80 procedure could have saved Deamonte’s life, he was poor and never made it to the dentist. The re-authorization of CHIP included critical provisions to guarantee dental benefits to the children who rely on this program for their health care. We had the opportunity to bring life from Deamonte’s death and ensure that his suffering was not in vain. Unfortunately, there were some who joined the President in choosing politics over our children.
“It is shocking to the conscience that a President who brags about being a compassionate conservative would in one breath ask Congress for an additional $190 billion to spend in Iraq and then turn around in the next breath to strip away the health care coverage for millions of our children that would only cost a mere fraction of that amount.
“President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress spent six years exercising reckless spending, turning a record surplus into a record deficit. Now, while trying to play the part of fiscal conservative, Mr. Bush has targeted our children while blatantly misstating the facts in an attempt to excuse this unjustifiable veto—even as members of his own party have taken a stand against him.
“While today has been a setback for the well-being of our children, I will not be deterred from my fight to fulfill our moral obligation to protect and provide for them. I will work with Speaker Pelosi and my colleagues to ensure that we send this legislation back to the President’s desk—without making any medically and socially irresponsible concessions.”
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