Senate Proceeding on Jan 28th, 2009 :: 2:38:10 to 2:47:20
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2:37:59 to 2:38:20( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: senators minutes, s minutes, and senator roberts for 20 the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: madam president, the senate is not in order. the presiding officer: will the senate please come to order. the senator has the floor.

2:38:10 to 2:47:20( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Patty Murray

2:38:21 to 2:38:41( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: mrs. murray: thank you, madam president. regular health care is critical for a child to grow up to be a strong and healthy adult, we all know that. yet every day, millions of american children are denied access to this very basic need. they can't get regular checkups or see a family doctor for sore

2:38:42 to 2:39:05( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: throats or and so our -- as our economy continues to struggle, this problem is growing worse. at the end of came together on a bipartisan bill that would have taken big steps towards helping millions more kids get health care. it would have renewed the children's health insurance program and made sure that

2:39:06 to 2:39:26( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: almost ten million low-income children would be covered. it is a tragedy and a shame that children's health care became the victim of a partisan fight. but this week now we have the opportunity to make children's health a priority by renewing and expanding the children's health insurance program and getting it and it could not come at a

2:39:27 to 2:39:47( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: moment too soon. in the years since former president bush last vetoed chip, unemployment has skyrocketed, nationally and in my home state of washington. and as a result, millions of families across our country have lost their health care in just this last year alone. madam president, that's wrong,

2:39:48 to 2:40:10( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: and it's one of the reasons that we have now put chip at the top of our agenda this year. in difficult times like this, it's more important than ever that we make sure that our nation's children have a place at they can go where they can get medical care. so i am here today to urge all of my colleagues to support the 2009 chip reauthorization.

2:40:11 to 2:40:31( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: it is the smart thing to do for ourconomy. it's the moral thing to do for our children. madam president, most of us here in the senat support reauthorizing andmproving the children's health insurance program because we share the goal of ensuring that all of our kids can get health care. study after study has shown the benefits. children in this program are

2:40:32 to 2:40:53( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: much more likely to have regular doctor a dental care. the health care that they do receive is better quality, and they do better in school because they are healthy. madam president, this bill is almost identical to the one that we passed overwhelmingly in 2007 2007. it ensures that the children already enrolled in chip will

2:40:54 to 2:41:14( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: continue to receive health care and it provides another 3.9 million low-income children with coverage. most of those are kids who never had insurance because their parents couldn't afford it, who lost medicaid coverage, or who were recently dropped from private insurance rolls. and i think it is critical that

2:41:15 to 2:41:35( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: we expand health insurance to make sure that they are covered. now, there are a couple of specific provisions from this bill that i want to highlight to make sure that everyone understands why it's so important to pass this bill n. first, madam president, as i said at the beginning of my remarks today, the economic recession has made it even more

2:41:36 to 2:41:56( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: critical that we make children's health care a top priority and reauthorize this chip program. just on monday of this week, some of the strongest companies in our nation announced that they would cut 75,000 jobs combined. unemployment is now at the highest level in 16 years and we

2:41:57 to 2:42:17( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: are being told that we haven't seen the worst of it yet. the kaiser family foundation estimates that every time the unemployment rate increases a point, 700,000 more children lose their health insurce. by those numbers, wel a million more children have lost their insurance in the last year alone and many more will

2:42:18 to 2:42:38( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: lose their coverage in the weeks and months to come. this bill makes it easier for our states to ensure that those children will continue at least to get health care. it adds more flexibility to the program and sets funding rates based on state budget projections. so our states that are in the rst financial shape will get

2:42:39 to 2:43:02( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: more money to help pay for health care. this would be a huge help for my home state of washington and for the many families who are struggling to provide health care for their children. at the same time, madam president, the bill will strengthen chip by making sure resources are targeted at covering the low-income uninsured children congress meant to help when we created

2:43:03 to 2:43:23( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: chip back in 1997. it gives statesew tools to raise awareness about chip in rural, minority and low-income communities to help reduce disparity in care for minority children and extend care where it's most needed. and it creates a peformance-based system that rewards our states for reducing the number of uninsured children

2:43:24 to 2:43:44( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: by making sure that the lowest-income children are the top priority for chip and medicaid. finally, madam president, chip is paid for. 2.8 billion cost is covered by a 61 cent tax increase on cigarettes and other tobacco products. we aren't taking away from our other economic priorities.

2:43:45 to 2:44:05( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: social security isn't raided. deficit won't be increased. it is a win-win for everyone because experts estimate that by increasing the cost of cigarettes, almost 2 million adults will quit smoking and then we will prevent millions of kids from getting hooked. it's good for our children now and will help millions stay

2:44:06 to 2:44:27( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: healthy in the future. although this pw eul does have broad bipartisan support, some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have tried to throw up obstacles that detract us from the issues. i want to make clear what this bill is about. it is about our kids. this legislation is about making sure that our children can see a

2:44:28 to 2:44:48( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: doctor when it's about making sure they get medicine that will help make them better. it is to provide 10 million kids with health care to make sure they can grow into happy and healthy adults. i come to the floor this afternoon to share a story about a little girl from my home state because i think it puts the

2:44:49 to 2:45:09( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: importance o this legislation in perspective. madam president, meet bre she is six years old, a bright, happy child. but she has a serious genetic condition called cystic fibrosis. her family lives in mariesville, washington, in a part of my state that has been hit tremendously hard by economic

2:45:10 to 2:45:31( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: downturn. like a lot of people with cystic fibrosis, brenna's health care costs are about ten times more than the average child, and it is nearly impossible for her to get private health insurance to cover the bills her family's facing. almost half of the children with cystic fibrosis would not have

2:45:32 to 2:45:52( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: health care at all if they didn't have chip or medicaid. brenna'sother, brandy, wrote to me to tell me that her family depends on chip for brenna and to keep her family going. and i want to read what she wrote. she said -- quote -- "i don't know what i would do if i did not have this wonderful program. i simply would not be able to

2:45:53 to 2:46:14( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: pay for her to receive the care she does now. i would be in never-ending medical debt. and in the end of it would most likely lose my daughter either way. the economy is rough enough right now. the chip program is something i'm extremely thankful for. it provides me sanity and strength every year to take care

2:46:15 to 2:46:35( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: of my child and her needs. please allow this program to continue. our lives depend on it." madam president, those are heart-wrenching words from a mom. most of us can't even imagine being in brandy's shoes. her daughter's story shows us just how critical this children's health insurance program really is.

2:46:36 to 2:46:56( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: this bill that's in front of us today is about brenna and the millions of children just like her around the country. so, madam president, when it -- what it comes down to is this: when a child get a cut that needs stitches, has a fever or earache or develops a serious illness like cystic fibrosis, they should be able to

2:46:57 to 2:47:17( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: health care. period. i want to make sure that brenna's mom never has to worry about her going into debt to keep her own child alive or whether health care will be there for her daughter. so let me say it again, this bill is about making sure our kids can see a doctor. passing it is the smartest thing

2:47:18 to 2:47:20( Edit History Discussion )

Patty Murray: we can do for our economy, its also