Urge Congress to Override Bush Veto of State Children's Health Insurance Program .(MP3- 3MB)

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Great Things Happening in Michigan

Last week, I joined Senator Debbie Stabenow at a community roundtable on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which in Michigan is known as MiChild, a program that provides health care coverage to 55,000 Michigan children every month. I sat for an hour with health care professionals, families and child advocates who shared their first-hand experience on how important it is for our children to have health care coverage. We heard heart-wrenching stories about what happens when kids don’t have access to preventative treatment. We heard about a child who died from an asthma attack because he couldn’t see a regular doctor; and about an earache that went untreated and led to permanent hearing loss; and a tooth infection that led to death. Insurance and preventative care would have made a difference in all of these cases.

Earlier this year, I joined with 42 other governors from both parties to urge Congress and the president to renew the program. The legislation passed through the House and Senate at the federal level with bipartisan support. But when it arrived on President Bush’s desk, he vetoed it, blocking expansion of the program and leaving us unable to insure an additional 80,000 low-income children in Michigan.

Fortunately, there is still time for citizens to act and push Congress to overturn the president’s decision. The House of Representatives will hold a vote this week on overriding the Bush veto, and we need only about a dozen additional votes across the country to make it happen. Surprisingly, six Michigan congressmen voted against the bill.

No parent should have to choose between putting food on the table and taking their kids to the doctor. And no child should have to wait for an illness to become an emergency in order to get treatment. This is a moral issue, and no Michigan citizen should stand by and miss this opportunity to help 80,000 uninsured Michigan children.

At the same time, this is an economic issue that impacts Michigan businesses and families. Who pays for the uninsured? You do. Every family with an insurance policy pays an additional $730 per year to subsidize those who don’t have insurance.

The bottom line is that this bill is good for Michigan’s children and good for Michigan’s economy. Congressman John Dingell and others from our congressional delegation were instrumental in its design. But now, in order to overturn President Bush’s veto of children’s health insurance, we need to convince the six Michigan congressmen who voted “no” to change their votes and say “yes” to provide Michigan kids with the health care they need.

So this week, please tell those who voted “no” to change their votes. Tell Congressman Joe Knollenberg, Congressman Mike Rogers, Congressman Pete Hoekstra, Congressman Tim Walberg, Congressman David Camp, and Congressman Thaddeus McCotter – tell them how important their votes are on this issue. I encourage you to call the Capitol operator at (202) 225-3121 and ask to speak with these congressmen.

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