Senate Proceeding on Jan 29th, 2009 :: 2:13:35 to 2:20:50
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2:13:33 to 2:13:53( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: the bill contains four basic requirements to make hedge funds subject to s.e.c. regulation and oversight, and i would ask, mr. president, that the balance of my statement be inserted in the record in full. the presiding officer: without objection, so mr. levin: and, mr. president, i yield the mr. baucus:

2:13:35 to 2:20:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Roger F. Wicker

2:13:54 to 2:14:14( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: senator from montana is recognized. mr. baucus: i have two unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority requests be agreed to and that these requests be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. baucus: mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: will

2:14:15 to 2:14:36( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: the senator withhold his request? mr. baucus: yes. the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi is recognized. mr. president. mr. president, the schip legislation the senate is considering this week purports to provide more health insurance for our nation's poorest children.

2:14:37 to 2:14:58( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: but in truth, the bill shortchanges the neediest of children in states like mississippi. instead of spending taxpayer dollars on our poorest children, those who need health insurance the most, the bill we are considering today gives taxpayer-funded health insurance

2:14:59 to 2:15:20( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: to middle-class families and wealthy states. the schip bill we will be voting on today does nothing to ensure that all american children under 200% of the poverty level have health insurance. in fact, the bill diverts this important program which i

2:15:21 to 2:15:42( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: supported for years, away from its intended purpose. schip was designed to cover low-income children between 100% to 200% below poverty level. that comes from 2,000 to 4,000 per year for a family of four. these families require

2:15:43 to 2:16:05( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: assistance under schip because they earn too much to qualify for medicaid. but they're not able to afford private health coverage for their children. this was the intent of schip. what we ought to be doing in this bill is prioritizing low-income american children and making sure as many uninsured

2:16:06 to 2:16:26( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: poor kids as possible are covered under the increased funding that we're going to provide. instead this bill allows states to expand their programs without demonstrating that they've covered the poorest children first. in my state of mississippi, for

2:16:27 to 2:16:48( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: example, schip covers 65,000 children. but there are another 30,000 children below 200% of the poverty level that are without health insurance. and this bill would not cover those children even with the expand funding. now other states that are

2:16:49 to 2:17:10( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: similarly situated include iowa, nebraska, north dakota, north carolina, and arkansas. i urge the senators from those states to join me in an effort to correct this inequity and i would urge all senators to make this bill better so that we make

2:17:11 to 2:17:33( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: sure we include the poorest of the poor children first. in the past decade since schip was created, the number of uninsured poor children has decreased from 28% to 15%. but we cannot in the face of that success story neglect the remaing 15%.

2:17:34 to 2:17:56( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: and many of them are in the states that i've just mentioned. 15% of america's poorest children still do n have health care. and we are debating a bill that would expand schip beyond its intended purpose to cover higher-income families and other adults.

2:17:57 to 2:18:17( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: schip allotments in fiscal year 2009 will be billion, mr. presidt. under this bill we would almost double that per year. but only additional 9 million is needed

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

Roger F. Wicker: to cover these poor, uncovered children in the states like mississippi. if we're going to almost double the size of the program, mr. president, we ought to make sure that the poorest of the poor are covered. if this bill were really about health care for poor children, we would guarantee each state

2:18:39 to 2:19:00( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: sufficient funds to cover every child in a family below 200% of the poverty level. it's just that simple. and we would do that before moving on to cover more affluent families in the more affluent states. senator cochran and i have introduced an amendment that would do just that.

2:19:01 to 2:19:22( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: our amendment would prohibit states from receiving funds to cover individuals above 200% of poverty level until we can guarantee that 90% -- not 100%, but 90% of the poorest children nationwide are covered. the result of our amendment would be that the more affluent

2:19:23 to 2:19:43( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: states would simply have to wait if they want to cover middle-class children, if they want to cover families making as much as 8,000 per year or more. they would have to wait until the poorest of the poor children in mississippi and arkansas, in

2:19:44 to 2:20:05( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: north carolina, in north dakota, and nebraska and iowa are covered. now, i've been watching the votes this week. and it appears that the leadership has locked in a majority to resist amendments of this nature. i thought the bill was about making it easier to cover

2:20:06 to 2:20:26( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: children under 200% of the poverty level. between 100% and 200%. if amendments like senator cochran and my amendment do not pass, we have to wonder is the real intent of this legislation to replace our private health care system with a

2:20:27 to 2:20:48( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: government-run system at the expense of people who need help the most. one of my colleagues yesterday said we're ruining the schip program. i have to concur with that if this legislation isn't amended. i urge my colleagues to join me in bringing the focus of schip back where it belongs on helping

2:20:49 to 2:20:50( Edit History Discussion )

Roger F. Wicker: poor children.