Rules Committee Democrats Reject Amendment to Provide SCHIP to Legal Immigrant Children

[Mika]

Huh? Is this true?

http://diaz-balart.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=121&Month=9&Year=9&ShowHeader=False

September 25th, 2007 - Washington, D.C. - The Democratic Majority in the House Rules Committee, last night, rejected an amendment offered by Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) to the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007, H.R. 976, which sought to allow states the option to provide Medicaid and SCHIP coverage to legal immigrant children and pregnant women in the U.S. The House Rules Committee rejected Congressman Diaz-Balart’s amendment on a party line 4-8 vote.

“It is irresponsible to expand health coverage while excluding legal immigrant children,” said Congressman Diaz-Balart. “The law should not discriminate against legal immigrants; health care is simply too important an issue,” concluded Diaz-Balart.

Legal immigrants pay taxes too. Excluding their children is absurd, imo.

Its time to fix our health care system, not by excluding children.

[Mass]

1. This is the reason why Kucinich did not vote for SCHIP.\nt

[Mika]

2. My goodness, this is crazy.

As much as I abhor Diaz Balart, this amendment was the right thing, imo.

[eleny]

3. On the face of it, it makes no sense at all

Perhaps they mean that they don't want to permit it for children of people who come here to work temporarily. It makes no sense to exclude them in that case. Forcing them into emergency rooms instead of seeking preventative care drives up costs.

I want to know more about this. But I agree that it's absurd.

[Mika]

4. If they penalize tax paying legal immigrants, what's the incentive for legal immigration?

Bizarro world country indeed.


Does anyone know anything more about this?

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[Justitia]

5. It was the ONLY way the repukes would even let it out of committee for a vote.

The repukes offered the compromise that if they did this, they'd let it proceed to a vote, so that's what happened.

As with almost EVERY piece of healthcare access legislation ever passed, the intent is to get the program passed, then expand it's coverage subsequently.

This is how we got Medicare and Medicaid to where they are today, BTW.

[Freddie Stubbs]

6. Democrats are in the majority, they don't need GOP votes to get bills out of committee

[Justitia]

7. So, gee, why aren't all kinds of new legislation just FLYING out the door?

How naive.

There have been over 120 amendments attached to this bill in the Senate alone, god only knows how many in the house.

All the repuke amendments have been with the purpose of KILLING THIS BILL so that none of them have to go on record with a vote against.

This asshole repuke from FL is trying to make it look like he was doing a good thing and the Dems killed it so that he can COVER HIS ASS. His stmts are totally misleading.

Never trust a republican, or anything they say - esp on healthcare access legislation.

edit to add: This fucker voted against this bill THREE TIMES ON TUESDAY ALONE!
So, you tell me, is this guy interested in passing SCHIP - I don't fucking think so.