AFSCME - “Morally Outrageous Vote Slashes Health Care for Ten Million Kids”

Statement of AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee on the House Override Vote for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)

“Ten million American children will not get the health care they need because of a small group of callous Republicans led by President Bush. They can find billions of dollars to spend on a never-ending war in Iraq, but won’t fund doctor’s visits for children. This vote was morally outrageous. We will continue our efforts to renew and expand SCHIP and to work with the bipartisan majority on Capitol Hill who support health care for millions of America’s children.”

AFSCME and a consortium of other groups spent $5 million on an advertising campaign to flood Capitol Hill with hundreds of thousands of calls, letters and E-mails, and sponsored more than 200 events across the nation, to protect SCHIP.

AFSCME’s 1.6 million members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in hundreds of different occupations – from nurses to corrections officers, child care providers to sanitation workers – AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and prosperity and opportunity for all working families.

###

American Federation of State, County
and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
1625 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036-5687
Telephone (202) 429-1145
Fax (202) 429-1120