Democrats Literally Hold American Kids' Medical Care Hostage to Help Illegals Instead
Funding for regular government functions ran out at midnight eastern time Friday night and the federal government entered a partial shutdown after the Senate was unable to pass a continuing resolution that would have extended necessary funding for a short period of time.
The reason the CR failed is because Democrats refused to vote for it unless it provided a fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program which is set to expire in March. This, despite the fact there was no viable DACA legislation that could be attached to the CR to earn Democrat votes and the immigration issue has nothing whatsoever to do with government funding.
Senate Democrats led by Chuck Schumer have now created quite the public relations predicament for themselves in that their immovable stance on demanding a DACA fix for illegal immigrants right now has essentially placed them in opposition to providing necessary funding for the military and one of their own favorite pet programs, the state Children’s Health Insurance Program.
According to CNS News, House Speaker Paul Ryan lamented on Thursday how “unconscionable” it was for Democrats to essentially hold CHIP funding for sick children hostage in favor of demanding amnesty for illegal immigrants.
“If Senate Democrats want to shut the government down; if the Senate Democrats want to deny funding for our troops; if the Senate Democrats want to stop CHIP funding for unrelated issues, that’s a choice they would make, and I don’t think it’s a good choice for them to make, but that would be their decision to make,” Ryan stated.
Ryan noted that the House had done its part in passing a CR which included not just additional funding for CHIP, but a six-year extension of the program as well, which was shot down by Democrats Friday night.
“And that’s not Mitch McConnell’s fault,” Ryan continued. “That is the fault of the fact that it takes 60 votes and the Senate Democrats are refusing to even exercise the power of the purse, and now they’re refusing to get a (budget) cap agreement so we can get the power of the purse exercised, so we can fund the military, fund the things like basic health care, fund things like opioids. They’re refusing to even do that over this unrelated (DACA) issue. That’s why we are where we are.”
Fox News reported that federal funding for CHIP actually ran out in September of 2017 and several states are about to run completely dry when it comes to the program that helps cover various medical costs for families that don’t qualify for Medicaid but can’t quite afford private insurance plans, a program with nearly 9 million American children nationwide enrolled in it.
“Without this program, these children are caught in a dangerous gap that would deny them access to needed care. Every day that CHIP remains without a long-term reauthorization is a day that access to health care is threatened for the most deserving and vulnerable among us,” explained Joel White, president of the Council for Affordable Health Coverage.
“Senate Democrats have rightfully advocated for CHIP funding in recent months, and it would be the height of hypocrisy for them to oppose a spending bill with this included now,” White added.
Indeed, the six-year extension to CHIP was added into the CR to appease the demands of House Democrats who have now been left hanging by their comrades in the Senate.
Needless to say, House Republicans are none too pleased at the blatant political ploy being played by Senate Democrats with regard to demanding legalization for illegal immigrants at the expense of health insurance for American children.
Children’s lives are at stake. It’s time for our friends across the aisle to stop playing games with CHIP funding. https://t.co/JYPWaMQnNb
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) January 17, 2018
Numerous GOP members of the House took turns expressing their utter disbelief that Democrats were essentially turning their backs on the health insurance needs of millions of American children to deal with an illegal immigration issue that had not yet run up against a deadline, unlike CHIP.
To be sure, we here at CT aren’t particularly fond of CHIP due to its inherent nature as a redistributive hand-out, even as we recognize that many struggling families have become dependent upon it to make ends meet.
Yet, when it comes down to it, we would much rather provide funding for that program than allow Democrats to hold the kids in that program hostage, not to mention the paychecks of civilian and enlisted members of the military, in favor of some sort of amnesty for a select group of illegal immigrants, which should be handled in a separate immigration reform package that funds border security and a wall.
Please share this on Facebook and Twitter to let everyone know how the Democrats have prioritized legal status for illegal immigrants over funding health insurance for American children in need.
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