House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi did not mince words today concerning House Speaker Paul Ryan’s charade, temporarily funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), in order to pass Republicans’ kleptocratic spending bill and prevent a government shutdown, while failing to provide long-term health insurance to poor kids.
In a press briefing (which you can watch below this article) Pelosi charged:
This is like giving you a bowl of doggy doo and put a cherry on top and then call it a chocolate sundae. This CHIP [funding] should have been done in September, first of all. Second of all, we wanted 10 years. We wanted permanent CHIP, which by the way, saves $6 billion. Republicans rejected that, even just on the terms of CHIP, they rejected the 10-year savings — $6 billion. Doing it for 6 years, saves $1 billion. That’s good. Doing it 10 years saves $6 billion is better. In fact, it’s best.
In other words, not only is Ryan trying to cheat children of longterm healthcare, he’s also ballooning the budget.
She proceeded to call out Republicans’ greedy ruse for what it is:
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They could have easily put all this in this bill. Why didn’t they? Because they want to spend their money on tax cuts instead of investments in health and well being of children and their families.
She is absolutely right. Just before the new year, the Republicans passed their ruthless tax scam that redistributes 83% of American tax revenue to the top 1%, while adding up to $2.7 trillion to the national debt.
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Now, Republicans say the country does not have “enough” left to prevent poor children from dying, even though the program actually saves money.
CHIP was created in 1994 by then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, enabling 8 million underserved children to receive free quality medical care.
Republicans have failed to renew its funding, since it expired in September. Now, they want to implement a pathetic stop-gap measure to try to trick Democrats into letting Republicans continue to plunder the public till.
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They are afraid that if the government shuts down due to their nickel-and-diming impoverished children and backing a president whose open racism translates into xenophobic policy measures like ending DACA, people will blame them.
That is one point on which they are absolutely correct.
Thank goodness Minority Leader Pelosi was there today to establish the record for posterity.
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