Statement from AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney on House Vote for Children's Health Care

January 23, 2008 -- "It is hard to believe in this weakening economy that anyone could justify denying working people the means to take care of their children’s most basic needs.

By voting against health insurance for children, the President and a few partisan members of Congress are making life even harder for the millions of families who are already struggling to pay the mortgage, the rent, the heat or any number of household bills as they pile up.

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The idea that these families could purchase private insurance is absolutely ludicrous and shows how out of touch President Bush and the obstructionist Republican minority in Congress are with what life is really like for working people in this country. The cost of health care is out of control.

Equally ridiculous in the face of a slowing economy is to continue the failure to recognize that health care for children is a factor in the fiscal health of America.

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program has been a great success. Studies show children enrolled in the program are healthier, which means they require fewer expensive medical services. Studies even show kids with coverage through this program do better in school. Even President Bush’s friends on Wall Street would agree, that is an investment well worth making."

Source: AFL-CIO