Veto of Children's Health Insurance Bill Puts Children Needlessly at Risk, Lantos Says

Press Release

Veto of Children's Health Insurance Bill Puts Children Needlessly at Risk, Lantos Says

Washington, DC - Congressman Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo, San Francisco) issued the following statement today in response to the President's veto of legislation to improve the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP):

"This veto strikes a blow against healthcare for the nation's poor, putting families across the nation at great risk - including hundreds of thousands of children in California alone. Without SCHIP, 10 million American children who now have coverage will suddenly be uninsured, and you can bet the Administration won't be there to bandage their cuts or mend their broken bones.

"The Senate passed the legislation renewing this valuable program with a strong, bipartisan and veto-proof majority. I invite any colleagues in the House who have placed partisan politics first when they opposed this bill to reconsider now and vote to overturn this veto, to make a true commitment to the health of our underprivileged youth.

"It was startlingly hypocritical for the White House to issue a proclamation on the eve of this veto extolling the president's commitment ‘to the health and well-being of our youth' in honor of Child Health Day. A much more fitting tribute would have been to support a renewed and improved SCHIP, as the majority of Americans do."

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