In recent months, Arizona PIRG, along with State PIRGs across the nation, joined the fight to extend health insurance to millions of American children whose family’s cannot afford it.
Late in 2007, Congress twice passed bills that would expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) only to see both bills vetoed by President Bush.
The bills would have extended coverage to 10 million children—about 4 million more than are covered by the current program. However, SCHIP proponents fell 20 votes short of what we needed to override the president’s vetoes. The $35 million cost would have been covered by an increase in the tobacco tax. Altria (the parent of Phillip Morris) and other tobacco companies fiercely opposed the move, as they have similar state-level plans.
“The idea to extend health insurance to millions of American children has strong bipartisan support. If President Bush will not extend this right to children, we need to find a way to help uninsured kids through another outlet,” said PIRG’s Steve Blackledge.
