Iowa Governor Culver Today Urges Congress, President Bush To Reauthorize SCHIP

Governor Commends Four Members of Iowa House Delegation for Supporting Bipartisan Compromise

(Des Moines) Today, Iowa Governor Chet Culver urged President Bush to sign the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) $35 billion bipartisan compromise bill when it comes to his desk. In addition, the Governor praised the House of Representatives for passing the measure last night. The Governor delivered his remarks at the Early Childhood and Diversity in Iowa: Challenges and Opportunities on the Drake University Campus.

Governor Culver used the platform to thank members of Congress for their work in pushing through this important piece of legislation. The Governor said, “S-CHIP is the federal program that funds Iowa’s HAWK-I program. This compromise of $35 billion will allow Iowa to maintain its current HAWK-I rolls and could allow us to cover thousands of additional kids.

“Insuring children is not a partisan issue, and I am pleased to see Republicans and Democrats in Washington supporting this critically important bill, including Senators Grassley and Harkin who have been champions of this legislation. Unfortunately, President Bush has already announced plans to veto the bipartisan plan to reauthorize SCHIP. I find this deeply troubling.”

Governor Culver said the issue is not complicated and has worked in recent days to educate the Bush Administration on exactly what is at stake here in Iowa. “A veto of this bi-partisan compromise would mean that Iowa could lose more than $76 million in federal funding for children’s health insurance next year. To put that into perspective, the President’s veto puts health insurance for 21,562 Iowa children in jeopardy,” said Governor Culver.

The Governor commended Iowa’s members of the U.S. House of Representatives – Reps. Braley, Loebsack, Boswell and Latham – for supporting the bipartisan compromise last night. He expressed disappointment in Rep. Steve King for voting against the compromise, saying Rep. King “chose politics and stood with President Bush instead of Iowa and the more than 9,000 kids in his district who rely on this program for their health care. I hope that in the event of a Congressional veto override, Congressman King will reconsider and this time do the right thing for the children of our state.”

The Governor said that this Friday he will speak with Secretary Michael Leavitt from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to once again explain exactly what is at stake and urge the Bush Administration to support the bipartisan compromise in Congress. He said, “The clock is ticking. I urge the Bush Administration to sign the bipartisan compromise in Congress to reauthorize SCHIP and get to work on insuring our nation’s children.”

THE FACTS ABOUT SCHIP AND IOWA:

* Come October 1st, if the President vetos the bipartisan SCHIP compromise and there is no extension, Iowa could lose more than $76 million in federal SCHIP funding for Fiscal Year 2008.
* If Congress simply passes an extension using last year’s funding level, Iowa would face a $33 million federal shortfall for Fiscal Year 2008. An extension ignores the problem and we’ll be right back to where we are today.
* If the President vetoes the Congressional $35 billion bipartisan compromise, he is putting health insurance for 21,562 Iowa kids in jeopardy.
* The $35 billion bipartisan compromise bill in Congress is good for Iowa. The funding level will allow us to continue to provide this vital program to those it was established to serve.
* President Bush’s proposal only adds an additional $5 billion over 5 years for SCHIP. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), this is not even enough funding to maintain current SCHIP rolls.
* The bipartisan compromise passed the U.S. House last night 265-159.
* The bill does not provide federal funding for illegal immigrants. Section 605, Lines 17 and 18 of the bill clearly state: “Nothing in this Act allows Federal payment for individuals who are not legal residents.”
* According to today’s Washington Post: “Backers of the congressional bill, including conservative Republican Sens. Orrin G. Hatch (Utah) and Charles E. Grassley (Iowa), have said repeatedly that Bush is dead wrong about the $83,000 figure. Only New York has sought to cover children from families with incomes that high, and the administration turned down the request.” [Washington Post, 9/26/07]

Source: Iowa Governor

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