January 14, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H203 

not enrolled in the Children’s Health 

Insurance Program even though they 

are eligible. Today, this Congress has 

an opportunity to change that by passing legislation that will expand the 

program to 4 million additional kids. 

At a time of rising unemployment, 

passing this legislation is more important than ever. In this economic recession, more and more parents are having 

difficulty finding affordable health insurance for their children. The need for 

this legislation grows every day. And 

this legislation is fully paid for so it 

will not increase the Federal deficit. 

It is especially important for my 

home State of New York which has 

402,000 uninsured kids. Imagine that. 

Nearly 10 percent of the national total. 

And I therefore thank the sponsor, 

Congressman FRANK PALLONE, and the 

Chairmen WAXMAN and MILLER for 

their work on this bill. 

Madam Speaker, this legislation has 

received strong bipartisan support in 

the past for a reason, and I urge my 

colleagues to vote for it today. 

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b 1030 

DATA AMENDMENT 

(Mrs. MALONEY asked and was given 

permission to address the House for 1 

minute.) 

Mrs. MALONEY. Madam Speaker, 

taxpayers want to know where the first 

$350 billion of the bailout TARP money 

has gone; so does Congress. The independent General Accounting Office 

concluded that Treasury has not set up 

any policies and procedures to ensure 

that TARP funds are being used as intended. I am therefore putting in legislation to require Treasury to collect, 

analyze and report to the TARP oversight entities data on what recipients 

of the TARP money are receiving, and 

to let them analyze exactly where this 

money is going. I am proposing this in 

the form of an amendment to H.R. 384, 

which may be on the floor this week. 

This amendment subjects TARP recipients to additional, but appropriate, 

scrutiny of their activities. It provides 

the entities charged with overseeing 

the TARP, including Congress, the 

tools they need to analyze exactly 

where our taxpayer money is going. I 

urge my colleagues to support it. 

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SCHIP 

(Mr. PETERS asked and was given 

permission to address the House for 1 

minute.) 

Mr. PETERS. Madam Speaker, today 

the House will consider legislation to 

expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and provide health 

insurance coverage for more than 11 

million children nationwide. 

The current recession makes this legislation particularly important. Children living in low-income families in 

Michigan rose a staggering 40 percent 

between 2000 and 2007. Parents are losing their jobs and their health insurance. And kids who do not have health 

coverage forgo regular checkups and 

preventive t reatments. They miss 

more school days, and are less likely to 

finish high school. And untreated 

health problems can severely impact a 

young child’s development. SCHIP provides a lifeline for children so that 

they can be healthy kids who have the 

opportunity to grow into healthy productive adults. 

The SCHIP bill we will consider 

today is fiscally responsible. It is more 

cost-effective for taxpayers to provide 

proper care for our kids rather than 

footing the bill for unnecessary emergency room visits. Passing this legislation is the right thing to do for our Nation’s kids. 

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INVESTING IN AMERICA’S 

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE 

(Mr. PERRIELLO asked and was 

given permission to address the House 

for 1 minute.) 

Mr. PERRIELLO. Madam Speaker, I 

rise today to support an economic recovery based on investing in America’s 

competitive advantage. 

Voters in Virginia’s Fifth District 

sent me here because they recognize 

two things: First, we need fundamental 

change to revitalize this country’s 

economy; and second, there are no 

shortcuts to getting there. 

Somewhere along the way the world 

economy changed, but government responses stayed the same. The result in 

my district has been years of declining 

jobs, declining wages, and rising health 

care costs. These economic woes are 

now confronting the Nation as a whole, 

and we face an urgent moment as we 

lose half a million jobs every month. 

We need a recovery strategy immediately, but this plan must be based on 

investment, not just throwing money 

at the problem. This crisis reflects a 

failure of confidence and will only be 

solved by its restoration. You restore 

confidence by fixing problems, not by 

pretending they aren’t there. 

The distinction between stimulus and 

recovery means more to economists 

than to our actual economy. I believe 

our Nation’s economy will recover only 

through a visionary strategy for rebuilding America’s competitive advantage. That means real commitment to 

investing in our workforce, our infrastructure, our innovation, and the new 

energy economy, and that must include 

investment in our small towns and 

rural communities. 

This investment will be the guidance 

that our constituents need to create 

American jobs and turn this economy 

around. 

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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION 

OF H.R. 2, CHILDREN’S HEALTH 

INSURANCE PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2009 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam 

Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 52 and ask for its immediate 

consideration. 

The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: 

H. RES. 52 

Resolved, That upon the adoption of this 

resolution it shall be in order to consider in 

the House the bill (H.R. 2) to amend title 

XXI of the Social Security Act to extend and 

improve the Children’s Health Insurance 

Program and for other purposes. All points 

of order against consideration of the bill are 

waived except those arising under clause 9 or 

10 of rule XXI. The bill shall be considered as 

read. All points of order against the bill are 

waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill to final passage 

without intervening motion except: (1) one 

hour of debate equally divided among and 

controlled by the chair and ranking minority 

member of the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce and the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and 

Means; and (2) one motion to recommit. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida is recognized for 1 

hour. 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam 

Speaker, for the purpose of debate 

only, I yield the customary 30 minutes 

to the gentleman from Texas, my 

friend, Mr. SESSIONS. All time yielded 

during consideration of the rule is for 

debate only. 

GENERAL LEAVE

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. I ask 

unanimous consent, Madam Speaker, 

that all Members have 5 legislative 

days within which to revise and extend 

their remarks and to insert extraneous 

materials into the RECORD. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there 

objection to the request of the gentleman from Florida? 

There was no objection. 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. I yield 

myself such time as I may consume. 

Madam Speaker, H. Res. 52 provides a 

closed rule for consideration of H.R. 2, 

the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. 

I really am honored and privileged to 

have the opportunity to present this 

rule to the body. The rule provides 1 

hour of debate, equally divided among 

and controlled by the chairperson and 

ranking minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and 

the chairperson and ranking minority 

member of the Committee on Ways and 

Means. 

Madam Speaker, the SCHIP reauthorization bill of 2009 is a fiscally responsible way to revive our commitment to providing America’s low-income children with the quality health 

care they need and deserve. The bill authorizes $32.3 billion over 41⁄2 years to 

cover the seven million children who 

currently rely on SCHIP, and extends 

coverage to more than four million 

low-income children who are currently 

living without health care. The bill offers comprehensive and wide-ranging 

care that includes mental, dental, prenatal, and maternal health services. 

The underlying bill also supports a 

multifaceted approach to increasing 

health insurance enrollment. It provides States with incentives to lower 


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