There are currently 49,192 children in Connecticut who qualify for Medicaid or HUSKY health care but are not enrolled, says the American Academy of Pediatrics.
On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois held a press conference to announce their push for legislation that would get those children the health care they need.
The bill, dubbed "The Healthy Kids Act," is a reauthorization of legislation first passed a decade ago, but with changes that would make it easier for children to enroll in health-care programs both in Connecticut and nationwide, where there are an estimated 6.8 million children who have no coverage.
Both Courtney and Emanuel said President Bush's proposed funding for children's health care would fall far short of what's needed.
While the independent Congressional Research Service estimates the program will need an increase of $13 billion to $15 billion over the next five years to maintain current services, Bush has only requested $5 billion over the next five years.
"The president's proposal would actually turn the clock backward," Courtney said. "We would literally be throwing thousands of kids out of the program if we adopted his proposal."
The proposed legislation would improve children's access to health care by streamlining the enrollment process and giving states a bonus - a 2-percentage-point increase in the federal funding match - for doing do, the congressmen said.
Emanuel outlined some of the ways in which states can streamline the process.
"Schools can be the best recruitment for getting kids into the program," he said. "If you're eligible for WIC or school lunches," the forms parents fill out for those services would automatically enroll the child in the health care program.
"By cutting down on bureaucracy you can enroll kids," said Emanuel. "You would automatically pick up millions of children by just making what they do everyday in the schools part of the enrollment."
The bill will also give families who are not eligible for Medicaid or HUSKY a "Healthy Savings Tax Credit" they could use to buy health coverage for their children.
Of the 73,421 Connecticut children currently uninsured in Connecticut, Courtney said, 49,192 would qualify for HUSKY coverage and the remaining 24,228 could get coverage through the tax credit.
Courtney and Emanuel said the bill had wide support from both sides of the aisle in Congress, so they are optimistic it will be passed.
"I think we're going to have a really strong bipartisan basis for support," Courtney said.
The Healthy Kids Act is expected to cost approximately $60 billion over the next five years.
Congressman Courtney appeared on C-SPAN's Washington Journal the morning of March 22, 2007. The Congressman talks about the Iraq war supplemental and takes calls from viewers.
Courtney Urges High School Students To Get Involved Politically
Montville High School senior Megan Logan, 17, got a chance Wednesday to ask her congressman whether he approves of what President George W. Bush has done in office.
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, said he credits the president for a few things, but that under Bush's leadership the country has gone “backwards.”
About deficit spending: “The cost of interest is growing, and it's going to affect all of you,” Courtney said. About cutting taxes for the affluent: “Tax breaks to Paris Hilton cost money,” Courtney said.
Courtney has announced plans to visit as many schools in the 2nd District as possible. He was at Montville High School on Wednesday, a visit that included a tour of the school and a question-and-answer session with a class studying American law. Courtney acknowledged the role of young voters in the November elections. Courtney defeated Rob Simmons by just 83 votes. He said a record number of young people voted, and he received a significant number of votes in college towns such as New London, Storrs and Willimantic.
“There's a pretty good case that they had an impact,” Courtney said.
He urged students at Montville High to get involved in politics.
“I'm not saying that you all have to get out there with fliers, but at least participate,” he said.
Courtney, a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, also spoke about upcoming legislation that will have an affect on students.
One such bill would cut interest for student loans from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent and could save the average student approximately $5,000, Courtney said.
“It can make a difference if a (student) goes to school or not,” he said.
American law teacher George Dawe concurred, saying hefty loan payments can be a burden for young adults. Courtney also noted the support from the House of Representatives and the Senate to increase the amount of Pell grants, where the federal government provides money to students to pay for college. The amount has not increased in six years, while the cost of tuition continues to rise, he said.
Courtney also talked about a bill to increase minimum wage; a resolution in Congress opposing policy to increase the number of troops in Iraq; casinos affecting local communities; No Child Left Behind legislation and unfunded mandates; the country's dependence on fossil fuels; and the 2008 elections.
Courtney also visited H.H. Ellis Technical High School in Danielson and Norwich Technical High School this week. He plans to visit Stafford High School on Friday.
Montville High School Principal Thomas Amanti said this is the first time a congressman has asked to come to the school and visit with students.
As published in the Norwich Bulletin, February 21, 2007
DANIELSON -- The proposal on the Democratic agenda in the first 100 hours of Congress that won the most support from Republicans was the measure that cut interest rates on student college loans.
"That wasn't a coincidence," U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, told students Tuesday morning at Harvard Ellis Technical High School. "It wasn't a matter of members of Congress being nice people. It was a reaction to the impact that young people had on Congress in the last election."
Younger voters, especially those 18 to 25, turned out in higher numbers in November than in any previous elections since 18-year-olds were given the right to vote in 1972. The result was a shift in power as Democrats regained control of both chambers of Congress.
"The more you vote, the more politicians are going to pay attention to your issues," Courtney said, noting in past elections, politicians and candidate focused on issues concerning older Americans who are more likely to vote.
"But that's changing," he said. "And it is a change that is important for the future of this country."
Traditionally, 18- to 25-year-olds avoid elections, registering the lowest percentage turnout of any age group. Most young people say they don't vote because they're not convinced their vote matters.
Courtney hopes to dispel that belief, using his victory in November as an example of how important those votes are. Courtney won by 83 votes out of more than 240,000 cast -- the closest congressional race in the country in 2006. He attributes his victory to the higher turnout of young voters.
"That was pretty shocking," said Samantha D'Anna, 16, of Plainfield, a hairdressing student.
D'Anna was one of 10 students selected to pose questions to Courtney during the hourlong assembly. The topics included gas prices, education, the war in Iraq, possible reinstatement of the draft and global warming.
There also were questions on gay marriage, which Courtney said should be left to the states to decide; and dairy farming subsidies, which he supports.
The students gave Courtney high marks for his answers.
"I understood everything he was saying about the questions we asked him," D'Anna said.
Still, his point about the impact of younger voters on changing the outcome of elections surprised her.
"I didn't get it at first," added Robert Smith, 15 and a sophomore from Plainfield, "but when you think about it, it makes sense. Every person has a different way of looking at things, so I can see where one age group could have a different opinion."
"If I leave you with one thing to remember today," Courtney said, "it's this: No group is more affected by the decisions being made in Washington, D.C., than you, the young people in this country. And Congress is paying attention because of the way young people impacted this last election."
As published in the New London Day, February 13, 2007:
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, is stepping up his campaign for increased funding for the Virginia-class submarine, saying current production rates for the sleek sub threaten both national security and the submarine industrial base.
“The building schedule that the Navy is wedded to — at least at this point — will definitely result in a deterioration of the size of our submarine fleet,” Courtney said. “It's just simple math.”
Courtney over the past week has strongly questioned defense officials during hearings, and is enlisting the support of others in Congress, including other members of the freshmen class, to support the production of two Virginia-class submarines a year, a doubling of the current schedule endorsed by the U.S. Navy.
The $2.5 billion submarine is made in a joint arrangement between Groton-based Electric Boat and the Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard in Virginia. The Navy advocates building two submarines a year starting in fiscal year 2012.
Courtney and other submarine advocates maintain stepped-up production should start sooner to prevent a deterioration in the size of the sub fleet in the ensuing years. The Navy's shipbuilding budget in the coming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, is roughly $14.7 billion. It includes seven new ships, including one Virginia-class sub.
Courtney has sent a letter to Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who heads the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, calling for additional appropriations in the 2008 budget for two subs.
“I am deeply concerned that continuing to delay the procurement of a second Virginia class ... could do serious and longstanding harm to the submarine industrial base,” Courtney told Murtha. He said the Groton-based submarine builder has made “great strides” to lower cost and boost productivity, adding that greater economies of scale would result from the building of two subs a year.
Some congressional insiders believe support is growing for an increase in the size of the Navy's fleet, including more submarines. U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, a Democrat from Missouri who heads the Armed Services Seapower subcommittee, has said he spoke with Murtha about the possibility of adding more surface ships and another submarine to the Navy's budget for the coming fiscal year.
In addition, Taylor has told congressional staffers that he plans to discuss a ramping-up of the Navy's shipbuilding program with U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, a Democrat from Missouri, who is the chairman of the influential House Armed Services Committee.
During congressional hearings this past week, Courtney questioned Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the Navy's construction budget and urged him to increase submarine production.
Courtney told Pace he is concerned about the submarine fleet buildup by China, which he said is currently producing about two-and-a-half subs annually. While conceding that most of the fleet includes diesel-powered submarines, Courtney said the Chinese navy is moving ahead with construction of more advanced, nuclear-powered boats as well.
Pace said he recognized the Chinese buildup of submarines and said defense officials were monitoring the situation. “Thanks to the great folks in Groton ... that's why we're able to have great comfort in our quality over other people's numbers,” Pace told Courtney.
Courtney said the continuing decline in workers at Electric Boat is worrisome because such skilled labor is hard to find. “Assuming that we're looking at the current projections (by the Navy), there will be more reductions” if production doesn't ramp up soon, Courtney said.
Electric Boat has forecast a work force this year of about 8,500, saying that it plans to implement furloughs rather than layoffs to adjust to work force levels.
“When you're talking about draftsmen and engineers and skilled trades, these are not the employment that you can reproduce quickly if our strategic position in the world changes,” Courtney said.
As published in the Hartford Courant, February 19, 2007:
The 10-year effort to preserve and protect the Eightmile River watershed in Salem, Lyme and East Haddam took another critical step forward recently when Congressman Joe Courtney announced that the bill calling for designation as a wild and scenic river would be the first bill he submits as a freshman congressman.
Those of us who have worked on this project for years are enormously grateful to him for picking up the ball at this critical juncture. If we can achieve wild and scenic designation, we will have left a significant mark for the better on this remarkable resource and on our corner of this planet.
The Eightmile project has been building for a decade, through years of inter-town collaboration and study. With each passing year, we learn more about what an extraordinary river ecosystem we have right here in our own backyards.
Possibly the most remarkable thing about this effort is that it couldn't have succeeded without three towns - East Haddam, Salem and Lyme - coming together to create a joint management plan. When we went to Washington six years ago to testify for the study that resulted in this call for designation, this collaboration across town boundaries impressed committee members as much as any of the environmental superlatives we offered.
Courtney brings new energy and commitment to this inter-town project. We stand ready to help him in any way to bring this wild and scenic designation home to one of the last intact riverine ecosystems in our state.
Susan Merrow
East Haddam
The writer is a member of the Eightmile River Wild and Scenic Committee.
