(Washington, D.C.) – Yesterday, the Congress failed to override President Bush’s veto of the State Children’s Heath Insurance Program (SCHIP) reauthorization. The Republican Main Street Partnership supports the efforts of its members to hold bipartisan negotiations to find a solution that will continue this important program. “The current federal funding for SCHIP is set to expire on November 15th. SCHIP is an important program that provides healthcare coverage to children in need,” said current President and CEO of the Partnership and former U.S. Representative Charles F. Bass (R-NH). “Now is the time to put healthcare for low-income children above partisan politics.”
Main Street praised the efforts of Representatives Mike Castle (R-DE), Charles Dent (R-PA), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Heather Wilson (R-NM) – all members of RMSP – to reach a new bipartisan compromise that would protect the SCHIP program. “We are pleased that Main Street members are taking the lead in finding a bipartisan solution that will end the SCHIP standoff,” continued Bass.
Representatives Castle, Dent, Kirk, and Wilson penned a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) yesterday. In the letter, the centrist Republicans wrote that they, “believe that we need to take the next steps to work together to reach a compromise -- one that Congress can pass and the President will sign. SCHIP is a valuable program that we cannot give up on at this point. We need to negotiate a bipartisan compromise to ensure the success of the program and the expansion by 4 million children, bringing the total number of children in SCHIP to 10 million. I urge Congress and the President to move swiftly to resolve their difference and reauthorize this successful program; relatively minor changes would yield a broad bipartisan coalition to pass the bill.”
“The American people want a Congress that is focused on delivering results – not one that is fixated on partisan warfare, especially when the future of a program like SCHIP is at stake. Main Street is committed to a pragmatic agenda that puts an emphasis on finding solutions to the challenges we face as a nation. By working together – across party lines – we are confident that the Congress can find a way forward on SCHIP,” concluded Bass.
