Published: 10-16-07
I was privileged to get out of Washington and talk with Texans from Houston to Lubbock and from Dallas to Mission and Pharr during a brief Columbus Day break last week. We addressed a wide variety of issues facing our state—controlling and combating drug use among young people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area making certain we retain local control of schools repairing our immigration and border control systems and keeping federal taxes low and maintaining our economic expansion.Congress and the President are currently at an impasse over the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). It has prompted a debate in Texas over how we can improve delivery of health care and encourage broader coverage for Texans and all Americans while maintaining the strong points of our current system. Last week I called on Democratic leaders in Congress to work with me and others to reach a bipartisan solution. My position on SCHIP can be summarized in three points:
1) Reauthorize SCHIP—Cover Poor Texas Children First. I support reauthorization of SCHIP with sufficient additional funding to cover all eligible children that Texas health authorities can enroll. I voted for a $10 billion funding increase. The plan I support will ensure renewed focus on SCHIP’s original intent—covering Texas children in working poor families. We need to fully fund the Texas Legislature’s commitment for increased enrollment. But the Democratic majority bill vetoed by President Bush last week would divert Texas taxpayer money to expand and subsidize the SCHIP program for middle-class adults in northern states.
2) Address Key Texas Problems—Outreach and Enrollment. The Kids First bill I support tackles the central problems facing Texas better than the majority version. Approximately 700000 Texas children are currently eligible but not enrolled in either SCHIP or Medicaid. Kids First provides $700 million for outreach and enrollment. The majority plan contains only a token $100 million over five years for critical outreach efforts. We should concentrate on locating and signing up those who need assistance not on expanding the program outside its intended beneficiary.
3) Cover Texas Uninsured—Don’t Raise Taxes on Working Poor/Middle Class. We must seek broader health care solutions to address the high rate of uninsured children in our state. The plan I support covers additional Texas children without raising taxes on lower and middle class families. The majority bill balloons SCHIP by more than 140 percent to potentially include families of four with $83000 of annual income. It relies on an accounting trick that will guarantee higher taxes both immediately and again in the future.
For more information on these and other topics go directly to my Web site. To receive additional updates please select the issues that interest you listed on the right. It’s an honor to serve you in the United States Senate.
