WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a senior member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today delivered a major health policy address at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Reed gave the keynote address at the First Focus Children's Budget Summit.

In 2006, Senator Reed was instrumental in preserving health coverage for hundreds-of-thousands of low-income children across America, when he refused to allow Congress to adjourn until they addressed the funding shortfall in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Reed was given the First Focus Champion of Children Award for his efforts to protect the health coverage of hundreds-of-thousands of low-income children and families.

Reed's speech was delivered one day after a key Senate panel approved a five-year, $35 billion expansion of SCHIP that would be financed through higher tobacco taxes. This bipartisan measure, which the Finance Committee passed 17-4, would allow 6.6 million people to maintain their current health coverage, and would provide coverage for an additional 3.2 million uninsured children. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill.

Nationally, SCHIP provides health insurance to approximately 6.6 million children in low- and moderate-income families who are just above the cut-off for Medicaid eligibility. In Rhode Island, approximately 11,000 kids are covered under the SCHIP portion of RIte Care (the state's Medicaid and SCHIP program), along with 11,000 adults and a few hundred pregnant women.

A copy of Senator Reed's remarks, as prepared for delivery, follows:

MOVING TOWARDS A HEALTHIER SOCIETY

First Focus Children's Budget Summit

National Press Club - Washington, DC

July 20, 2007

SEN. REED: Good morning. I would like to thank First Focus President Bruce Lesley for the kind introduction and for inviting me to be here with you today. It is a pleasure to address such a distinguished array of child advocates from around the country about issues of mutual interest and concern.

I would like to acknowledge Elizabeth Burke Bryant of Rhode Island Kids Count who is with us today and thank her for all of her incredible work to defend and protect the interests of vulnerable children in my home state. I commend her and all of you for your tireless work and commitment to improving the lives of children.

Indeed, your mission is more important and needed than ever.

Remarkably, the nation's poverty rate is higher now than it was in the 1970s, but no President since Lyndon Johnson has made fighting poverty a major administration goal. It is estimated that 37 million Americans are now living in poverty, including 13 million children. And we know what the effects of poverty on children are. It negatively impacts their health and impedes their ability to succeed in school. It deprives them of some of the experiences that we think are essential for their progress.

Sadly, this nation's is becoming less a ‘land of opportunity' and increasingly a stratified society where birth largely determines one's future. One of the fundamental principles of our country and our economy is that people should be able to support and advance their families by their efforts, by their labors, by their works. That is when the economy is working well.

The reality today, however, is there are people working two or more jobs sometimes, working 50, 60, 70 hours a week, who still don't have sufficient income to meet the basic demands of the family. In this country we should at least be able to guarantee to someone that if they are working that hard and can work their way out of poverty.

Earlier this year, the Urban Institute released a groundbreaking report that examined the portion of federal spending dedicated to children. It also provides an insightful look at historical trends in federal spending aimed at improving the lives of children. There are over 100 federal initiatives that aim to support children and families - in terms of income security, housing, nutrition, social services, education, and tax credits and exemptions.

And while federal spending on children grew from $53 billion in 1960 to $333 billion in 2006, as a percent of domestic spending, the share dedicated to children actually fell from 20.1 percent to 15.4 percent over this period. Moreover, spending on children has largely shifted away from broad-based middle class support to programs targeted at the poor. These low-income programs quickly phase-out with additional household income, discouraging the climb up the ladder of economic opportunity.

Meanwhile, the costs of basic demands of life escalate - health insurance premiums, college tuition, housing, and utility costs - all continue to spiral up into the stratosphere. Health insurance premiums have increased 87 percent since 2000 alone, while average wages have remained stagnant. How does one afford health care if your wages don't go up? You don't.

Additionally, if you look at college tuition, another aspect of family life which is part of the American dream, the notion, again, that if you work hard, you can ensure your children will do better, go to college. Again, recent economic studies have shown that because there is not full access and affordability of college, the class structure is becoming more rigid.

A few decades ago, only 20 percent of a son's future income would be determined by his father's income. Today it is 60 percent. In fact, some recent economic research indicates that economic mobility is greater in many European countries than it is in the United States. Indeed, the adage of Horatio Alger, ‘strive and succeed' no longer seems to hold true in America.

So, if you are a wealthy parent, you will probably have wealthy children. But the reverse is also true; if you are a low-income working parent, the chances of your son or daughter rising to the top in this economy are much less likely than they were 40 and 50 years ago.

It is not too late to reverse these troubling trends. It is incumbent upon Congress and the Administration to reinvigorate the fight against inequality and restore the stepping stones that provide the foundation to broad based economic stability, opportunity, and success in this country. We need to bolster and support domestic policies that will enhance education, health, and economic security of hard working middle-income families.

One of the keys to this is education and I am pleased that the Senate just passed the Education Reconciliation Act, which provides a long overdue boost in need-based grant aid to students pursing a college education. Bringing the maximum Pell Grant to $5,100 next year and $5,400 over five years for eligible students is a good start, but it is just that, a start.

This is the kind of effort that is going to help reorient our focus on creating greater economic opportunities and strengthening American families and developing a real, comprehensive economic plan that benefits all Americans, not just a select few.

Our government has a very important role to play in terms of supporting the social and economic well-being of our children and families. We can help to ensure quality and affordable child care for working families, support effective early education programs like Head Start, reducing the achievement gap, improving literacy rates, strengthening student aptitude in math and science, and promoting after school programs.

However, if children are going to have what it takes to excel in school, they must also be healthy. Again, there are a range of sensible initiatives that go a long way to get children off to a safe and healthy start in life. Whether it's reducing the incidence of childhood lead poisoning, protecting children against vaccine preventable diseases, or improving the chances of surviving deadly forms of childhood cancer, these efforts have a life long benefit. However, one way to address all of these issues and more is to provide access to meaningful and affordable health insurance coverage.

Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee passed the 5-year reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). It allocates an additional $35 billion in resources and would expand coverage to an additional 3 million children.

The bill is expected to be considered by the full Senate next week. While the agreement provides much needed enhancements to facilitate outreach and enrollment of eligible children as well as important new quality care initiatives, the bipartisan agreement also passed up on an historic opportunity. In particular, the agreement leaves sitting on the table $15 billion in resources that had been set aside for children's health coverage in the Congressional Budget Resolution.

According to estimates, while the agreement will extend coverage to 3.3 million more children, 6 million children will remain uninsured under this proposal. Every public major opinion survey out there indicates overwhelming support dedicating resources to children's health and the additional resources would have made a significant dent in further reducing the numbers of uninsured children in this country.

When you consider that we are spending $10 billion a month in Iraq, spending $10 billion a year to provide health insurance coverage to millions of children seems like a wise and effective use of our resources.

I was also disappointed that the bill did not provide a federal standard for mental and dental benefits for children enrolled in SCHIP. While many states offer access to mental and dental care in their plans, the scope and breadth of these benefits varies greatly.

The bill also passes up on the chance to support working families by curtailing the ability of states to expand coverage to increase the likelihood that children are ensured. My home state of Rhode Island is one of the 11 fortunate states to have been granted a waiver from the Department of Health and Human Services to cover parents of eligible children. Consequently, our state has been among the top in the country in terms of insured individuals. Under the agreement, states with existing coverage expansion waivers will be given a period of transition and no new states will be granted the opportunity to extend coverage under SCHIP.

Yet, despite these shortcomings, I believe that the bill strikes a careful balance in terms of politics and policy that reinforces our commitment to children's health. Given the masterful work of the Senate Finance Committee to craft an agreement that garnered the approval of all but four members during the mark up, I was frankly confounded when the President threatened to veto the bill before the ink had even dried last Friday.

Indeed, in 2009 the next Administration faces a daunting list of challenges, comprehensive health care reform being at the top. We can and should continue to protect children's health coverage. However, we must also begin to tackle the escalating cost of health insurance as well as the myriad of other factors that are contributing to the rapid erosion of our health care system.

Simply allowing our children to mire in a spiral of poverty and despair, not only does them a great disservice, it is also harmful to us, our nation, and our society as a whole. Many of us in this room are part of the ‘baby boom' generation; we are products of the post-World War II era. During that time, our government made a substantial investment in programs that resulted in the proliferation of the middle class, one of the greatest accomplishments of the last century.

The fact of the matter is that this generation and future generations of children will be the drivers of our economy well into the 21st century. Without the essential supports to enable our children to ‘strive and succeed,' our nation is destined for failure. Investing in our children is not only morally compelling, it is just sensible policy. We must not allow ourselves to become complacent co-conspirators in shortchanging our children of the right to excel, achieve, and succeed.

Thank you again for the opportunity to be here with you today.