Louise Slaughter

Ms. SLAUGHTER

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to table the motion to reconsider.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I feel compelled to point out this is not about a point of order or unfunded mandates, but it is because this administration and many of the people in this House do not want to give health care to 10 million children. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 774 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Ms. SLAUGHTER

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 774 provides a closed rule for consideration of H.R. 3963, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007. The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided among and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means. Mr. Speaker, I stand before you on the floor this afternoon with mixed emotions. I along with a majority of Members of the House are disappointed that we have to reintroduce a bill, passed by enormous bipartisan support, which would have provided millions of children across the Nation with access to health care. The memory of what took place here on the House floor a week ago today will not soon be forgotten. On that day, we saw a few Members stand in lockstep with the President and with that deny health care coverage for millions of our children. However, coupled with my disappointment, Mr. Speaker, is the consuming feeling of promise. I have hope for those children, along with a belief that those Members who were unable to break away from the President's mistaken rhetoric will stand for what is right today and vote to overwhelmingly pass this vital legislation. I feel strongly that what motivated me and so many of my colleagues to come to Washington in the first place was the thought that on any day a vote could be held that would improve the lives of millions of people throughout our country. And that is exactly the chance that we have been given here today. We are again granted the chance to vote for a bill that will advance medical care in this country, improve the health of our youngest and neediest citizens, and offer new hope for literally millions of children who would otherwise be left without either. I think everyone listening today recognizes the reality of the situation we face. Should we not act, the health care of millions of children will be yanked away on November 16. Not providing health care to millions of children when given the opportunity to do so is appalling, but to strip away benefits from those who currently have them is simply indefensible. Mr. Speaker, in our vote to expand SCHIP last month, we made a genuine dent in one of the most shameful inadequacies of our health care system: the lack of coverage for millions of America's children. Congress created the State Child Health Insurance Program in 1997 with broad bipartisan support, including some of my colleagues who now oppose it. As a result, over 6 million children currently have health care coverage that otherwise would not. In my home State of New York, over 400,000 children are enrolled, the second highest in the Nation. The SCHIP reauthorization bill would preserve access to health care for 6 million children already enrolled in the program, while bringing desperately needed health care coverage to almost 4 million more children. As a result, in my home State of New York, an additional 268,000 children who need it will have health care coverage. That means they will be able to get their immunizations before starting school, or see the dentist when they have a toothache. This new bill also makes changes by phasing out childless adults after 1 year, and also puts in a cap on children whose parents' income are over 300 percent above the poverty level. The bill also requires States to develop plans and implement recommended best practices for addressing crowd-out. Make no mistake, 43 Governors from red States and blue, 69 Members of the United States Senate, Democrats and Republicans, 273 of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle in the House, and 81 percent of the American public, including a large majority of Republicans, support our bipartisan expansion of SCHIP. Yet, presented with this overwhelming support from all sides, the President decided to dust off his veto pen and with it deny millions of children access to health care. In spite of the unquestionable benefits and in spite of the overwhelming popularity and accomplishments of this program, SCHIP is under attack. We saw reprehensible smear attacks on families who were brought into the public eye to showcase the benefits of the program. In the face of the lifesaving chance that was bestowed on the family due to this program, the harshest rhetoric was not cast against the bill, but against this family, including the children. We saw persons go to the home of one of the families and harass them in public, talk radio and blogs made wild and audacious accusations, and we even saw staffers on Capitol Hill who clearly intended to assist this fabricated, coldhearted smear campaign. It is simply beyond comprehension to me that many are willing to score political points by denigrating our Nation's children, particularly those who owe their very lives to this program. But the American people saw through the attacks. They understood that the health of our Nation's children is simply not worth scoring a few political points. Mr. Speaker, the President chastises the $35 billion bill, which is fully paid for, as ``too expensive.'' And with the same breath, he seeks an additional $190 billion for the Iraq war, all of which is at the expense of the taxpayer. This is simply unconscionable when you realize the amount of money it takes to provide the health care for 10 million children for an entire year is what we spend in Iraq in just 41 days. We need to get our priorities straight. I am enormously proud of the accomplishments we have done this year, from education to health care, but nothing means more to us than SCHIP. The American people expect us to tackle this health challenge before us. Last week we fell short of overturning the veto by just 13 votes. To those Members who know that providing health care to vulnerable children is the right thing to do, I say to you: Join with Democrats and Republicans and with the American people in passing the bill today. Healthy children make a healthy Nation, Mr. Speaker. I hope every Member takes a long and hard look at the bill that we are presenting today and sees not just the words and the numbers, but the faces of 10 million children whose fate they hold in their very hands. It is time to put principles before politics. It is time to stand in defiance of misplaced priorities. And it is time to vote with our Nation's children and provide them with the health care they need and deserve. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California, the Speaker of the House, Ms. Pelosi.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin). (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Baca). (Mr. BACA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sestak).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Solis), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Space).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 774, and to insert extraneous materials into the Record.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. General Leave

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to defend this bill and the children of America. It has been painful for me to hear the mischaracterizations again of this bill. In the first place, adults will have 1 more year on this bill. And let me remind everybody listening that the only reason adults are on there is because the Bush administration gave States the right to do it. They will all be gone within 1 year. Nobody will be moved off of private insurance onto the Federal insurance. The bill even allows States to give money to private insurance companies to keep the children on those rolls. I've never heard so much obfuscation, even praising tobacco for medical people to try to stop taking care of America's children. A healthy group of children growing up in this country will absolutely redound on every one of us by the benefits that we will get from it. It is a tragedy to me, it is something that none of us should be able to even tolerate the thought of, that there are children in this country that don't have the vaccinations, that don't have the health care they need, that they are prevented from getting doctors appointments because they have no way to pay for them. It is an obligation if ever there was one. We have an opportunity to do it. It is paid for. We're not asking to increase the debt or anything else. It is a bill that deserves the vote of every Member of the Congress, and the President's signature, if ever there was one.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz).

Ms. SLAUGHTER

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the ordering of the yeas and nays on approval of the Journal be vacated to the end that the Journal stand approved by the earlier voice vote.

Ms. SLAUGHTER

Ms. SLAUGHTER. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1483, a bill amending the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996. The bill reauthorizes already existing national heritage areas. Most important to me and my district, and I think to the country, the bill authorizes the creation of the Niagara Falls Heritage Area. This truly is a monumental day for the city of Niagara Falls, the surrounding communities and the millions of people who visit Niagara Falls each year. Every time I drive across my congressional district, I am reminded how fortunate I am to represent such a beautiful part of the country. From the shores of Lake Ontario to our vineyards and apple orchards, Mother Nature has bestowed some of her finest treasures upon western New York. But none is as widely recognized at home and around the world as Niagara Falls. Every year more than 15 million people travel to Niagara Falls to take in this awe-inspiring natural phenom- enon. It is high time, Mr. Speaker, that the national treasures that are Niagara Falls and the Niagara River be granted the official status they have long deserved, that of a national heritage area. Niagara Falls has always been a source of energy for our region. I don't need to remind you that it is the foremost source of hydroelectric power in North America as well as the birthplace of modern hydroelectric power. This bill will help to solidify Niagara Falls' standing as something more, an engine for the revitalization and promotion of our region's natural, historic and scenic resources to residents and visitors alike. We are not ashamed of that. We have, obviously, one of the areas of the country most devastated economically. As you know, the heritage area designation ties together private and public lands linked by geography and history. With the approval of this designation, the National Park Service will assist our local and State organizations to develop and implement a plan to conserve and promote Niagara's natural attributes. Niagara Falls is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. We should all cherish it. The benefits are obvious for all to see.

Ms. SLAUGHTER

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the Record.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 742 and ask for its immediate consideration.