Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009

Floor Speech

CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009 -- (House of Representatives - January 15, 2009)

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Ms. MARKEY of Colorado. As working class families struggle to make ends meet in these tough economic times, we have the opportunity to ease their burden by providing health care for 11 million children. Currently, more than 1 out of 8 children in Colorado lacks health insurance because they can't afford it. As the mother of three, I understand the burden of caring for sick children and the relief of being able to take my children to the doctor without worrying about costs.

We need to expand access to children's health care, and make sure that every child has the ability to go to the doctor and receive treatment. This is not just the right thing to do; it makes fiscal sense to give children preventive health care.

As working class families struggle to make ends meet in these tough economic times, we have the opportunity to ease their burden by providing health care for 11 million children. In my state of Colorado, we had 84,649 children enrolled in SCHIP in 2007. This legislation would preserve coverage for them, and extend it to thousands more children in the state. (Currently, more than one out of every eight children in Colorado lacks health insurance.)

As a mother of three, I understand the burden of caring for sick children and the relief of being able to take my children to the doctor without worrying about costs.

We need to expand access to children's health care and make sure that every child has the ability to go to the doctor and receive treatment. Today's children are the next generation of leaders, and we need to insure our future. This is not only the right thing to do, it makes fiscal sense to give children preventive healthcare. I ask all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pledge their support for our children and vote for this bill.

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