Catholic Charities USA Criticizes Veto of Children’s Health Insurance Bill

Bush Veto of Bipartisan SCHIP Bill Imperils Health of Nation’s Children

Alexandria, VA—Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, issued the following statement today in reaction to President Bush’s veto of a compromise bill passed by Congress with strong bipartisan support to strengthen and improve the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, (SCHIP) a highly successful program that provides health insurance coverage to poor children.

“It is dismaying that President Bush has followed through on his threat to use one of his extremely rare vetoes on a bill that would have helped so many children without health insurance.

“Because of President Bush’s veto, thousands of poor children living in every state will not receive health insurance coverage that would otherwise have been provided to them under this legislation. This veto puts the health of many of our nation’s children at risk.

“This veto is the wrong decision at the wrong time. Census figures released only a few weeks ago showed that the number of children in America without health insurance is going up – reaching 8.7 million in 2006 – and this legislation would have taken an important step in reducing that number by extending health insurance coverage to several million more poor children.

“SCHIP has had a 10-year record of success in making a difference in the lives of children in need of affordable health care, and this compromise SCHIP expansion legislation had broad bipartisan support.

“Catholic Charities USA thanks those Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives and the Senate who supported the legislation and voted to provide health insurance for more children in need. Those who opposed this sensible and important legislation will be held accountable for their actions.

“When Catholic Charities launched its Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America earlier this year with the goal of cutting the poverty rate in half by 2020, we understood that the journey would be long and difficult. Passage of the children’s health insurance bill would have been an important milestone to show that Congress and the White House were finally giving priority to the needs of those living in poverty. Instead, today’s disappointing veto shows that we must redouble our efforts to help the poorest and most vulnerable in our society.”

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Catholic Charities USA’s members—more than 1,700 local agencies and institutions nationwide—provide help and create hope for more than 7.8 million people of all faiths and social and economic backgrounds. For more than 280 years, local Catholic Charities agencies have been providing a myriad of vital services in their communities, ranging from day care and counseling to food and housing. For more information, visit www.catholiccharitiesusa.org.