John Boehner, Oct 19, 2007

I was honored recently to meet with the Dalai Lama, who was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, our nation’s highest civilian award, for leading the struggle for religious freedom and independence on behalf of six million Tibetans.

I was impressed with the Dalai Lama’s genuine enjoyment of the medal presentation ceremony. He seemed to take great joy in the words of those who lauded him, and in fact, it was one of those all-too-rare moments when both political parties put aside the acrimonious rhetoric to commend a common cause -- religious freedom and independence.

I wonder, then, why we’re having such difficulty putting aside our partisan differences on another common cause: providing low-income children with affordable, high-quality health care. We all agree that it’s important for our children to be healthy. And we all agree that children whose families fall into the in-between area of earning too much to qualify for Medicaid yet earning too little to afford private insurance should get some kind of help to secure health care.

House Republicans are committed to renewing and extending the State Children’s Health Insurance Program for the low-income families this program was created to help. We do not want to see this valuable resource become another bloated government entitlement. Currently, the program covers more than 700,000 adults while some 500,000 low-income children eligible for the program are not insured by SCHIP. Right here in Ohio, in fact, there are thousands of children who qualify for the program but are not enrolled in it.

Soon after the President vetoed the SCHIP bill that was sent to him, I announced five principles that should guide us as we work to renew this important legislation. Republicans are committed to reauthorizing SCHIP in a manner that puts poor children first. SCHIP was created by a Republican Congress and a Democratic President -- I see no reason why today, a Republican President and a Democratic Congress can’t work together toward that same, common goal -- providing affordable health care to low-income families.

But this program cannot be a trial balloon for government-run health care or as a way to provide government benefits to adults and upper-income families who can afford private insurance. Now that the veto has been upheld, we have an opportunity to work in a bipartisan manner to continue this program. These are the principles that I believe should guide our work:

• SCHIP Must Serve Eligible Low-Income Children First. Republicans believe we must focus on the original intent of the program: cover low-income children first.

• SCHIP Should Not Force Children Out of Private Health Insurance. Republicans believe that SCHIP should not replace or significantly impact those who already have private insurance with a government-run program.

• SCHIP Should Cover Low-Income American Children. Republicans believe citizenship verification standards are critically important to ensuring that only U.S. citizens and certain legal immigrants are allowed access to taxpayer-funded benefits.

• SCHIP Funding for Low-Income Children Should Be Stable. Republicans believe SCHIP should cover low-income children without using budget gimmicks that put the program in jeopardy.

• Families Ineligible for SCHIP Should Have More Health Care Choices. Republicans believe low-income and middle-class families need more healthcare options -- like premium assistance programs -- to purchase affordable, high-quality health plans that best meet the needs of their families.

I’m disappointed that we reached the point in this debate where a veto and a vote to sustain that veto was even necessary but more and more, that’s how politics operates. After all, the ones who lose in these fights are the kids SCHIP is meant to help. On behalf of House Republicans, I’ve made clear that we stand ready to work in a bipartisan fashion to resolve our political differences and develop a bill -- one the President will sign -- that puts poor children first.

Congressman John Boehner is the House Minority Leader. Boehner, a Republican, represents Ohio's Eighth Congressional District, which includes Miami, Butler, Preble, Darke, and Mercer Counties.