January 12, 2009
Dear Partners,
We continue to hear word that Congress will vote this week on an SCHIP reauthorization bill, with the aim of having if having it ready for President-elect Obama to sign shortly after his Inauguration, perhaps even on January 20th.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi convened a meeting last Friday of key House and Senate staff members to discuss the timetable and content of the bill (information below). We want to thank our partners at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Center for Children and Families for filling us in on the details of that meeting.
Timetable
The House Rules Committee is currently scheduled to review the bill on Tuesday, January 13th, with the full House voting on the bill Wednesday, January 14th. The bill will bypass committee hearings and markups.
The Senate Finance Committee hopes to release an outline of a mark on Monday, January 12th and to hold a committee markup on Wednesday, January 14th or Thursday, January 15th. The bill will then go to the Senate floor.
Content
As we stated in last week's Alert, the House SCHIP bill is expected to look very similar to CHIPRA I, the legislation President Bush vetoed in October 2007. Like CHIPRA I, the House bill will renew the SCHIP program and substantially increase its funding, establish a plan to enroll millions of already-eligible uninsured children, and launch a new child health quality program. Additionally, it appears as though the Legal Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act (ICHIA) could be included in the bill, eliminating the current five year waiting period for legally residing immigrant children. The bill will likely remain silent on the August 17th Directive, therefore clearing the way for the Obama administration to rescind the provision. As we also mentioned last week, the bill will largely be paid for with a 61 cent federal tobacco tax increase.
The details of the Senate bill are a lot less clear at this time, as there seems to be more debate over how to address the August 17th Directive and whether or not to include ICHIA. Senate Democrats are especially concerned about maintaining the high levels of support that Republican Senators demonstrated for SCHIP reauthorization in 2007.
If the House and Senate pass different bills, negotiations would follow and each chamber would face another vote.
Action Steps
1. Congress: Please contact your Congressional members, letting them know how important a quick, strong reauthorization of SCHIP is (contact information for the New England delegation can be found here). We want to particularly focus on the three new members of Congress from New England and hope our partners in Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire will reach out to: Congressman Jim Himes (CT), Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME) and Senator Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
Suggested Talking Points:
- With unemployment now over 7 percent, America's families need access to affordable coverage options for their children more than ever. The SCHIP reauthorization bill offers an important initial step to provide America's families with the help they need to meet their families' needs during the downturn.
- Congress needs to act quickly to pass a strong and stable reauthorization of SCHIP. With state budgets deficits increasing and more families needing help than ever before, it is critical that the SCHIP reauthorization be as long and as stable as possible.
2. Media: Please consider reaching out to your media contacts to let them know the bill will be debated again, how it impacts your state and connect them with any families who are impacted by SCHIP.
We will let you know as soon as we hear more information about the SCHIP reauthorization process. As always, please feel free to contact me directly with questions (617-275-2929, arosenthal@communitycatalyst.org).
Sincerely,
Amy Rosenthal
Project Director
