Hoyer Statement on Republicans' Partisan Bill to Reauthorize CHIP

WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today after voting against Republicans’ partisan bill to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP):

“I am deeply disappointed that Republicans chose to bring a partisan CHIP reauthorization bill to the Floor today that they know will not be signed into law. Instead of working on a bipartisan reauthorization well ahead of the September 30^th deadline, Republicans wasted time on an ultimately failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. They then wasted time on this partisan bill, which is yet another attempt by Republicans to sabotage the ACA.
 
“CHIP, funding for community health centers, and other public health priorities have historically had strong bipartisan support. It is shameful that Republicans chose to ignore that history by weighing this bill down with devastating cuts to our nation’s public health infrastructure, including programs that expand awareness of and access to childhood vaccines, cancer screenings, and tobacco use prevention initiatives. The bill also undermines the ACA and threatens the health coverage of up to 700,000 Americans.
 
“We cannot wait to act. Many states will soon deplete their CHIP funding and be forced to cut back services, potentially denying thousands of children access to health care. I urge Republicans to work with us to reach a bipartisan agreement to reauthorize CHIP before the end of this month.”