Hillary Clinton: Statement of Senator Clinton on Bush Plan to Undermine State Efforts to Provide Healthcare for Children

August 21, 2007 -- Washington, DC - “We should not punish children and their families who need healthcare coverage, but that is exactly what the President is proposing. The President’s policy would undermine efforts to provide healthcare for uninsured children in New York and other states, including those where it costs more to provide the same coverage and treatment a child would receive elsewhere in our country.

Every child deserves a healthy start in life and we should be doing everything we can to extend access to quality, affordable health care for the more than nine million children who are uninsured.

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Both the House and the Senate recently passed legislation to strengthen and expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the actions of President Bush are an attempt to undermine and negate the bipartisan efforts of Congress.

CHIP has been a real success story and I am proud to have helped launch this program during the Clinton Administration. We should build on its success and help states provide needed coverage, not sabotage state efforts to provide healthcare for our children. I will continue to work with New York State and my colleagues in Congress to make sure children and families in New York continue to benefit from this important program.”

Source: Senator Hillary Clinton