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Towns Announces Effort To Support Children's Health Bill Congressman Edolphus Towns last week announced that there would be a two-week nationwide effort to rally support for the critical, bipartisan children's health bill. This bill will provide health coverage for 10 million low-income American children. The purpose of the drive is to convince more Members of Congress to join in overriding President Bush's veto of this legislation on October 18th. "The bill the President vetoed would have provided 10 million American children health coverage," said Congressman Towns. "Now the fight for these children moves back to the Congress where the hard work of building a consensus among both Democrats and Republicans for a strong piece of legislation has already taken place." "The Children's Health Insurance program has always been bipartisan," pointed out Congressman Towns. "We have seen governors of both parties across the country in strong support of this bill. Senate Republicans and Democrats joined together in a veto-proof vote. In the House, we have had strong bipartisan support but those who have sided with the President against this consensus bill must now hear from their constituents. We will create a drumbeat across the country over the next two weeks." "No child in Brooklyn, the State of New York or anywhere throughout our nation should ever go without medical care," said Congressman Towns. "I am proud to back a plan to give 10 million children the care they deserve and move us closer to providing every child in our nation with affordable, high-quality health care." The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was created in 1997 to provide health care coverage for children in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private insurance. This bill gives states the resources and incentives necessary to reach millions of uninsured children who are currently eligible but not enrolled in CHIP. The House-Senate bill has a broad range of support and has been endorsed by more than 270 organizations, representing millions of Americans, ranging from groups such as the American Medical Association and America's Health Insurance Plans to Families USA, the consumer advocacy group. The current legislation reauthorizes the Children's Health Insurance program for five years and preserves the coverage for the 6 million children currently covered by SCHIP, including preserving the coverage of nearly 700,000 children in New York. The bill also extends health care coverage to about 4 million additional low-income children, who are currently uninsured, including extending coverage to more than 200,000 uninsured children in New York.
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