Rep. Meeks Issues Statement on Children’s Health Insurance Program

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, D-N.Y., issued the following statement urging House leadership to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program immediately:

"Since its creation, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has provided vital, life-saving care to millions of children across our nation. The numbers are telling: under CHIP, the uninsured rate for children under 18 dropped from 14.95 to 4.8%.

"With the September 30th deadline to reauthorize this crucial program approaching rapidly, we must not allow any lapse in federal funding. The nation's governors have come together in a bipartisan coalition to request that Congress support five-year reauthorization.

"The Senate has done so, and now it falls upon this House to follow suit. I urge my colleagues to pass a five-year reauthorization of CHIP immediately."