Statement of Governor Bill Richardson on the Bush Administration's Harsh Rules for Children's Health Care

SANTA FE, NM -- New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today issued the following statement regarding the Bush administration's despicable new policy on children's health care:

"The Senate bill to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) will cost approximately the same amount of money as the President is now requesting for additional expenditures on the war in Iraq. For less than one-tenth of the price of what the Iraq war has cost us so far, we could cover over 3 million additional children. The President is against it.

"Not satisfied with merely threatening to veto this important legislation, the administration has now unjustly and unfairly created cruel new rules which will undermine the states' ability to provide coverage for children. George Bush's decision to implement harsh new rules on SCHIP defies logic, compassion, and the will of the American people. Bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress, with the nationwide support of governors, recently voted to expand health insurance coverage for children. What is the response of this administration?

"George Bush's stated reason is to protect private insurance companies. Both the symbolism and reality here are telling. In the conflict between America's children and insurance companies, George Bush has sided with the insurance companies.

"It is long past time for a change. Recent reports indicate that the number of uninsured in this nation is rising. We are moving in the wrong direction. We need a President with a record of delivering change. In New Mexico, I extended health coverage to every child under the age of 12, I significantly expanded immunization for kids, and I doubled the number of school-based health centers for children. At the federal level, I support efforts to ensure that school-based health centers can use SCHIP funds in the delivery of critical health care services to children.

"A Bill Richardson White House will end the war in Iraq and redirect the funds toward domestic priorities, it will put the lives of our children above the interests of rich lobbies, and it will make sure every person in America has access to the same high quality health care that George Bush and Dick Cheney currently enjoy."