Two Southwest Ohio Representatives side with the President to deny millions of children health care

President Bush’s veto of children’s health insurance--and Representative Schmidt and Representative Chabot’s decision to side with the President in an extreme vote against Ohio’s children--is just plain shameful. Their vote not to override Bush’s disgraceful veto of health care for children means that 128,000 of Ohio kids who would have been able to see a doctor when they needed one will instead continue to go without the basic services they need to grow up healthy. 

Doug Sizemore, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council stated, “We need elected officials in office that place the betterment of our children and our community first”.

In the richest country in the world, nearly 10 million kids have no health insurance and 250,000 of them are children in Ohio.  Rep. Schmidt and Rep. Chabot’s vote puts them at odds with a bipartisan majority in both houses of Congress which has made it clear that caring for children is not a political or economic issue.  Caring for our children is a moral obligation and is a test of the greatness of our nation.  Congresswoman Schmidt and Congressman Chabot failed that test.

Providing health insurance to children also makes good economic sense. For many Ohio children, coverage through SCHIP is the only chance they have to get regular check ups, or to see a doctor before an illness becomes life-threatening. Preventing health problems altogether or catching them before they get worse is a proven way to save money and studies show that the State Children’s Health Insurance Program has been a success on both counts.

There’s little doubt that Rep. Schmidt and Rep. Chabot will also side with the president when he asks for another $200 billion to support the war in Iraq, so it is hard to understand why he wouldn’t support spending $35 billion over six years for a proven program to keep children healthy. Southwest Ohio working families will remember this ill-considered choice and hold Congresswoman Schmidt and Congressman Chabot accountable. 

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