John Shimkus is Against Children

Senator Richard Durbin tried & failed to find Congressman John Shimkus (IL-19) to encourage him to change his vote over the weekend. While other members of the Illinois congressional delegation have had a great many statements regarding HR 976, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, there has been nothing but deafening silence from the IL-19 offices. The latest press releases are filled with the usual photo ops with his near and dear. Nothing more.

Avoiding a high ranking senator is the act of a partisan hack. For IL-19, this is nothing new from John Shimkus. Here are the facts if anyone chooses to call the Shimkus offices or leave a comment on SJR. From the Gwinnett County, GA, Democratic Party :

1. Nothing in either the House or Senate bill would force coverage for families earning $83,000 a year. That is already possible under current law, but no state sets its cut-off that high for a family of four and the bill contains no requirement for any such increase. Poor children, defined as those in families below the official federal poverty level, were already covered by Medicaid.
2. The stated intent of Congress when it established the program in 1997 was to expand coverage beyond those who were poor to uninsured low-income children.
3. MIT economics professor Jonathan Gruber states, I have undertaken a number of analyses to compare the public sector costs of public sector expansions such as SCHIP to alternatives such as tax credits. I find that the public sector provides much more insurance coverage at a much lower cost under SCHIP than these alternatives. Tax subsidies mostly operate to buy out the base of insured without providing much new coverage.
4. SCHIP funding would come from an increase of the federal tobacco excise tax on all tobacco products. The federal government puts a tax of 39 cents a pack on cigarettes, with all revenue going into the general treasury fund. The House bill would increase that tax by 45 cents, while the Senate would tack on 61 cents, with the revenue specifically funding the SCHIP expansion.

Here is a quote from Senator Representative Hank Johnson D-Georgia, I am sure that the tobacco industry will be pleased because they won’t have to pay the proposed taxes. Tobacco wins. Our children lose.

How can anyone with three children of his own vote against the welfare of children? Because John Shimkus has a nice salary complements of the taxpayers (the level of which he NEVER deserved!). Very few of his constituents will ever see that income in their lives.

John Shimkus (IL-19):

• no fan of children
• no fan of animals
• typical partisan hack

Time for Joe McMenamin to represent IL-19!

Update: At least he made excuses before he scampered off to Iceland:

An aide said Shimkus, R-Collinsville, is willing to work with Durbin and others to reach a new compromise.

Aides referred to previous statements in which Shimkus outlined his objections to the bill now back before Congress.

The bill removes a provision from the law that requires checking the legal status of people receiving the government benefit, Shimkus said previously.

I don't believe my constituents want me spending their hard-earned tax dollars on illegal immigrants' health care when they may not be eligible themselves, Shimkus said.

He said that not enough money is budgeted in the last year of the plan. The cost would be pushed along to subsequent budget years, Shimkus said.

Durbin said the federal government is spending $35 billion per month on the war in Iraq and Congress is being asked for almost $200 billion more.

None of that is paid for, Durbin said.

Shimkus previously said he does not want to expand a government program.

The bill brings children who are currently in private health care insurance plans into a government-run program, he said. I fully support getting every child into an insurance plan; I do not support bringing children who are already covered into a government-run plan.

Durbin said the number of uninsured children has dramatically increased for the first time since 1998. The number of uninsured children rose to 8.7 million in 2006, up from 8 million in 2005, a 9 percent increase.

Shimkus said he believes the increased tobacco tax that the bill would impose to pay for insuring more children would put an unfair burden on the poor, who pay a disproportionate share of tobacco taxes.

Durbin brought a guest to the news conference -- Rebecca Bennett of Belleville, a mother of five, whose husband is a school custodian.

Bennett said her family would be in dire straits were it not for a similar statewide program called All Kids. She said she does not know how her family would get along without it.

We would probably eat less, she said.

Durbin said legislators worked out a compromise that would provide health care coverage to more than 10 million low-income children, compared to the current 6.6 million under the existing program.