Date: 2007-10-25
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. I think We need to sometimes look back and see how we got to where we are. On March 13. 1996. I was in the Florida Senate. I pulled up an old newspaper article that talked about "the milliondollar team of tobacco lobbyists figured they had their votes yesterday to override the Governor of Florida. Then Senator Ginny BrownWaite of rural Hernando County stood to address the chamber. Her vote was crucial to the tobacco companies who wanted to scuttle Floridas tough antitobacco law. They thought they had her. But they didnt know that in the last 26 years she had lost her mother. father and sister. all smokers. to cancer." I stood up and said. and its quoted in here: "I cant sit here any longer and play the tobacco game. BrownWaite said in a hushed emotional voice. I was awake all last night laboring over this." "Minutes later. protobacco forces withdrew their motion." Ladies and gentlemen. the reason I am bringing this up is this is where the money came from for the original SCHIP bill. It was because of overturning that vote and other States then followed to go after the tobacco companies for funds for thirdparty reimbursement. Thats where the money came from for the SCHIP program. I was proud of that vote. I was very. very proud of that vote. I think the tobacco companies. for a long time. lied to the American public. So after that. that was in 1996. after that. in 1997 Congress created the SCHIP bill. Great use of the tobacco litigation thirdparty reimbursement money. Great. great use for it. In Florida we created our own program from it. But what we have here today is kind of what a farmer in my district once told me. He -said. You can take horse manure and roll it in powdered sugar and it doesnt make it a doughnut. That. ladies and gentlemen. I think is kind of what we have here today. Its a magnet for illegal aliens. We have income disregards in here that will encourage States to disregard anything at all. There are no guidelines. They can disregard any form of income. child support. child care costs. anything that they want to get to that 300 percent of poverty level. This is not about supporting the President and the override. Lord only knows. this President knows he can not rely on my vote because I have stood in this Chamber and voted to override his veto of the stem cell bill. I disagreed with him on many. many issues. Madam Speaker is absolutely right. This is about the children. Like her. Im a mother and a grandmother. Wasnt it interesting that she couldnt use the word illegal. It was undocumented. Whether she prefers to call them undocumented or.illegal. this is a magnet which will draw even more people illegally. I dont have a problem using that word. illegally into .our country. If children reall are what my friends on the other side of the aisle care about. then why did they hold up this vote for 2 weeks? Now kids. on November 16. unless we can really. really compromise. they will be without health care. I think that is cruel. I think we need to get serious. I told Majority Leader HOYER this morning that this -bill is just so outrageous. I almost wish I could turn back the clock and change my vote. I never thought I would say that. I absolutely. Mr. Speaker. never thought I would say that. I was very proud of that vote. We need to make sure that we do cover kids and that we get serious about seriously negotiating a good bill. not a bill called a doughnut.