PRINTER'S NO. 2610
No. 447 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY DePASQUALE, SEIP, DeWEESE, McCALL, BELFANTI,
BENNINGTON, BISHOP, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE, CRUZ, FRANKEL,
GEORGE, GOODMAN, GRUCELA, HORNAMAN, JAMES, KORTZ, LEACH,
MARKOSEK, McGEEHAN, McILVAINE SMITH, MUNDY, NICKOL,
M. O'BRIEN, PALLONE, RAMALEY, SAMUELSON, SANTONI, SIPTROTH,
M. SMITH, SOLOBAY, STURLA, SURRA, THOMAS, WALKO AND YUDICHAK,
OCTOBER 15, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
OCTOBER 15, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Condemning the veto by the President of the United States of the
2 Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of
3 2007 and urging the Congress of the United States to override
4 the veto.
5 WHEREAS, The highly successful State Children's Health
6 Insurance Program (SCHIP), created by the Federal Balanced
7 Budget Act of 1997, has enabled states to provide health care
8 coverage to more than 6 million uninsured low-income children in
9 this country; and
10 WHEREAS, Through the program's enhanced Federal match
11 funding, Pennsylvania is currently helping to provide health
12 care coverage to more than 164,000 low-income children who do
13 not qualify for Medicaid and would otherwise be uninsured; and
14 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania led the nation in launching the first
15 Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in 1992 and provided
16 the model for Federal support of all states; and
1 WHEREAS, In 2006, Pennsylvania continued its leadership by
2 expanding affordable health care coverage to uninsured children
3 through its Cover All Kids program; and
4 WHEREAS, The Children's Health Insurance Program
5 Reauthorization Act of 2007, H.R. 976, is a bipartisan
6 compromise plan to reauthorize the SCHIP program, which expired
7 on September 30, 2007, and to expand coverage to an additional
8 3.8 million children; and
9 WHEREAS, On October 3, 2007, the President of the United
10 States vetoed H.R. 976, citing philosophical differences with
11 regard to the expansion of the program; and
12 WHEREAS, This veto will severely hamper Pennsylvania's
13 efforts to help more than 133,000 remaining uninsured children
14 obtain access to health care coverage; and
15 WHEREAS, It is critical that this legislation be enacted to
16 ensure affordable health care coverage for all uninsured
17 children; therefore be it
18 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
19 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania condemn the veto by the President
20 of the United States of the Children's Health Insurance Program
21 Reauthorization Act of 2007; and be it further
22 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
23 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the Congress of the United
24 States to override the veto; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
26 the President of the United States, to the presiding officers of
27 each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from
28 Pennsylvania.
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