Lee Terry Hates Poor Kids

You see, today Terry & 158 of his extreme-right-wing friends (including Nebraska’s other two congressmen, Smith & Fortenberry) voted against the SCHIP renewal and expansion. Thankfully, the bill still passed with a huge bipartisan majority of 265 votes.

CHIP (the Childrens Health Insurance Program) was a 1990s program that provided Medicare-style health insurance to poor kids who can’t otherwise get coverage.

On a personal note… I am a direct beneficiary of CHIP. Without it, I would not have had health insurance for a significant portion of my childhood. Anyone who has ever had the fortune / misfortune to hear me play guitar can thank CHIP, since I broke my finger when I was little playing football, and CHIP allowed me to get it fixed.

But passing this bill isn’t about me, it’s about the 65,000 kids in Nebraska who will loose their health insurance options if Lee Terry has his way.

Here are some key stats on Nebraska SCHIP health insurance:

Number of Nebraskan kids enrolled in CHIP: 44,981
Number of Nebraskan kids eligible for CHIP or Medicaid but not enrolled: 18,211
2008 Funds available under bipartisan bill: $42,204,503

So, let’s get this straight: Lee Terry just voted against insuring poor kids. Specifically, he voted against 65 thousand of those kids right here in Nebraska, and he voted against 40 million dollars in funding Nebraska would have gotten to help pay for those kids.

Good job Lee, way to show your true colors.