10.03.07

Whitehouse: President's Veto of Children's Health a Stunning Rejection of America's Priorities

Washington, D.C. – In the wake of President Bush’s veto of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the federal initiative that helps fund RIteCare and other children’s health programs across the country, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) issued the following statement:
 
“More than almost any other issue, the Rhode Islanders I’ve met are worried about health care.
 
“President Bush’s veto of the children’s health care program is a stunning rejection of one of America’s most deeply-held convictions: that every family, and every child, must have access to health care they can afford. 
 
“The State Children’s Health Insurance Program passed by Congress last week would have brought health care to ten million American children over the next five years, including up to 6,600 in Rhode Island, for less than the cost of four months of war in Iraq. It is a strong investment in the future of this nation.
 
“I hope Congress will act urgently to put working families first – and override the President’s irresponsible, ideologically-driven veto of the children’s health care program.”
 
Whitehouse has twice spoken on the Senate floor in support of the children’s health program, on March 22 and July 31. The text of his remarks, and video of his July 31 speech, are available at http://whitehouse.senate.gov.
 
###