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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2008
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Contact: Zach Goldberg
202-225-5801 (office) |
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HOLT: ECONOMIC DOWNTURN ADDS URGENCY TO OVERRIDING
PRESIDENT BUSH’S VETO OF CHILDREN’S HEALTH BILL
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(Washington, DC) – Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) today voted to override President Bush’s December veto of revised, bipartisan legislation to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for $35 million over five years. The legislation would strengthen SCHIP financing and increase health coverage for low-income, uninsured children whose parents do not qualify for Medicaid and can’t afford private insurance. Holt was one of 260 members, from both parties, to override President Bush’s veto of the SCHIP reauthorization legislation, but enough Republicans voted to sustain the veto to prevent the expansion of the program.
“It made sense, months earlier, to expand SCHIP eligibility for humanitarian reasons. This economic downturn adds further justification,” Holt said. “In this weakening economy, an increasing number of parents will have difficulty affording health insurance for their children. Overriding this veto would have provided coverage for 10 million children, including almost 4 million who are currently uninsured.”
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the legislation would preserve coverage for the 6.6 million children currently covered by SCHIP and extend coverage to 3.8 million children who are currently uninsured. The bill would also strengthen the quality of health care for low-income children by improving SCHIP benefits. The Congressional Joint Economic Committee recently estimated that 19,000 additional New Jersey children are projected to enter SCHIP/Medicaid each year of an economic downturn.
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