Iowa Governor Culver Urges Secretary Leavitt To Encourage President To Sign SCHIP Bill

Governor: “This is not political. This is the solution.”

(Des Moines) Today, Iowa Governor Chet Culver personally urged U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sec. Mike Leavitt, to encourage President Bush to sign the bipartisan bill to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The compromise bill has passed both the House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support, yet President Bush has threatened to veto the program and put health insurance for more than 21,000 Iowa children at risk.

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In a phone call earlier today with Sec. Leavitt, Governor Culver urged Sec. Leavitt to lobby President Bush against vetoing this critically important bill. “The compromise bill has overwhelming bipartisan support and is the best solution for Iowa kids,” said Governor Culver to Sec. Leavitt. “What is at stake is health insurance for more than 21,000 Iowa kids, and I would hate to take a step backwards by the President vetoing the compromise bill. In addition, the compromise bill could allow us to cover an additional 11,000 Iowa kids over the next two years. This is not political. This is the solution.”

The Governor thanked Sec. Leavitt for his time and said he would be happy to answer any questions the Administration has as this debate continues.

In addition, Lt. Governor Patty Judge traveled to Iowa City to urge Rep. Steve King to reverse his opposition to the SCHIP compromise bill and vote in favor of overriding a possible veto by President Bush. Rep. King continues to be the only member of the Iowa congressional delegation to oppose the bipartisan compromise bill to reauthorize SCHIP.

In her address to the “Off to a Good Start: Framing Policy for Early Childhood Health” Conference, Lt. Governor Judge said, “Rep. King has more than 9,000 Iowa children who get their health insurance through the SCHIP program. The Governor and I strongly urge him to reverse his opposition to program and support the SCHIP compromise bill.”

Source: Iowa Governor