Washington, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-Texas), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, announced he will oppose congressional Democrat’s latest version of the federal program to fund children’s health insurance.  Although few in Congress have actually seen the secretly-negotiated bill that includes billions of dollars of new spending, the House is expected to vote on the massive measure later today.

“Done right the Children’s Health Insurance Program is great preventative medicine, keeping families healthier, avoiding more serious illnesses later and keeping children out of our hospital emergency rooms,” said Brady. “And while this latest version doesn’t kick 800,000 Texas seniors out of their Medicare plans like the last bill did, it still misses the boat by a long way.”

“The new SCHIP bill is bad for the federal budget because it only pays for half of the  estimated $110 billion cost over the next decade and it is bad for working parents because it allows much of the current abuse – like covering childless adults – to continue.”

“It’s good, however, for those here in America illegally since it allows those fraudulently using someone else’s Social Security number to receive health care coverage, as well as those who have illegally overstayed their work visa. These are intentional loopholes.”

Said Brady, “I am still hopeful that following the President’s veto that Congressional Democrats will stop playing political chicken and sit down with Republicans like me who support children’s health insurance. There is a middle ground and a reasonable solution if we’ll simply work together to find it.”