Progress Illinois

Moments ago, the House of Representatives passed legislation reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program by a vote of 289-139.  The New York Times provides a summary of this important bill:

Supporters of the bill said it would cover 10 million children, providing benefits for nearly 4 million who are uninsured, while continuing coverage for 6.6 million youngsters already enrolled. The federal government now spends more than $5 billion a year on the program, and while precise figures are not yet available, the expansion would more than double that cost.

The Illinois Republicans voting against it were Peter Roskam, Judy Biggert, John Shimkus, Don Manzullo, Tim Johnson, and yes, newcomer Aaron Schock.  Of interest (in the context of this post from yesterday) is the fact that the cost of the measure is offset by a 61-cent hike in the cigarette tax.

During the floor debate this morning, Illinois Democrats Bill Foster and Danny Davis both rose to speak in favor of the bill.  Here's Foster's brief statement:

In his remarks, Davis highlighted Illinois' All Kids program and said "it's a great day for the United State of America" to see similar legislation passed at the federal level:

Finally, while Illinois' 5th Congressional District was without a representative in Washington today, one of the Democratic candidates vying to replace Rahm Emanuel -- State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz -- was quick to respond to the bill's passage in a press release:

"I applaud Congress today for expanding SCHIP so that millions more children can get the heath care they need. My only regret is that I wasn't in Congress already to vote for it myself," Feigenholtz said. "One of the most satisfying accomplishments of my career was partnering with then-state Senator Barack Obama to expand Illinois' Family Care program to cover working parents of low-income children and I plan to help him pass health care for all Americans once I get to Congress."

We'll give Firedoglake's Christy Hardin Smith the final word on why this bill is so important:

SCHIP provides a safety net of health care for the most vulnerable in our society.  Given the current economic climate, more and more families are going to fall into the cracks -- meaning children who could use health care now to correct a problem which may just get worse over time could use a hand.  

UPDATE: Rep. Jan Schakowsky points out in a statement why the passage of this bill is so satisfying:

“Today’s vote marks the fifth time in less than two years that the Democrat-led Congress has passed or tried to override President Bush’s veto of SCHIP, but this time the outcome will be different,” said U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).  “In less than a week, we will have a new President that will sign this bill into law.  I urge the Senate to move quickly in passing this bill so that it can be one of the first bills on President Obama’s desk when he takes office next week.”