JANUARY 14, 2009
(REMARKS AS PREPARED)

Mr. Speaker, I believe every American child should have access to quality health care.  The Children’s Health Insurance Program has done just that for those in families without the means to otherwise buy insurance on their own. 

SCHIP was created as a bipartisan program, one I was proud to support.  The bill before us today, however, not only threatens the core mission of the program – providing health insurance for low-income children – but creates a new entitlement that will demand higher taxes on all Americans in just a few short years.
Let me first state the obvious problem with this bill: a children’s health program should not be used to cover adults, non-citizens, potentially illegal immigrants, and those making $80,000 per year.

There is another problem with the bill—one the majority hopes you ignore: this bill blatantly attempts to hide the true cost to American taxpayers. 

It is irresponsible and untenable to fund a children’s health program with a revenue stream that is fast drying up.  Increasing the cigarette tax, regardless of your support for such an idea, does not, will not and cannot cover the cost of this program. 

The Democrats are blowing a giant cloud of smoke into the face of the American taxpayers, and I believe the impending tax increases that must come to cover this program will have us all in a severe coughing fit.

The Democrats want you to ignore the fact that the percentage of Americans who smoke has been dropping for decades.  But research and logic both show that raising the prices of cigarettes will lead to less smoking and fewer tax dollars coming into the federal treasury. 

The only way for this funding scheme to work is if the Democrats find 22.4 million new smokers.  I can’t wait to see the look on Sen. Daschle’s face when the Speaker tells the soon-to-be Health and Human Services Secretary that little tidbit.

In all seriousness, while its funding base is declining, SCHIP costs will increase exponentially.  CBO predicts that SCHIP spending will more than double under the Democrats’ proposal.  The resulting gap between program spending and revenue becomes staggering — a gap Democrats will soon ask the American taxpayer to fill.

In closing, I’d like to add one final note.  This bill represents a broken promise to lower and middle income Americans.  President Elect Obama promised that no one making less than $250,000 per year would see their taxes go up. 

Under the Democrats’ proposal, a working class family with two adult smokers would face hundreds of dollars in additional federal tobacco taxes each year.  We haven’t made it to Inauguration Day and House leaders are already breaking this campaign promise.  That might be a record even here in Washington, D.C.

Let’s keep SCHIP focused on low-income children, let’s not ask 22.4 million Americans to start smoking and let’s demand a better, bipartisan bill to improve SCHIP.  I ask my colleagues to vote no on this bill.

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