For Immediate Release: Saturday, January 20, 2018
Contact: Morgan W. Grogan, morgan.williams@
GOP’s Effort to Pit Children Against Children Creates Shutdown Crisis
Washington, DC – In response to the government shutdown after Republicans refused to make a deal on extending long-term funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and provide immigration relief to DREAMers, Health Care for America Now Co-Directors Ethan Rome and Margarida Jorge released the following statement:
“Tonight, the GOP showed the entire country that their idea of governing is pitting children against children and creating an unnecessary and morally reprehensible crisis. It turns out the only time the GOP can get anything done is when they are stealing from everyday Americans to give giant tax breaks to the very wealthy and big corporations. But when it comes to CHIP, which provides nine million children with life-saving health care, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which protects 800,000 young people who only know the United States as home, the Republicans would prefer to shut down the government than provide certainty to these kids and their families by passing a bipartisan agreement overwhelmingly supported by the public.
“Children should never be part of a partisan fight nor should politicians treat health care and protection for immigrant youth as leverage. For months, they have let funding for CHIP run out, leaving millions of families in health care limbo. At the same time, they ignored calls for action on DACA and immigration and failed to take any action when President Trump threw the future of DREAMers into jeopardy. Their inaction on these issues is indefensible.
“On the first anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration, the GOP proved that they are incapable of governing and will do whatever they have to – even put the health and safety of children at risk – to advance their political agenda. They are unfit to lead our country, and voters will remember how they used children and families for their political gain on Election Day.”
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Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is the national grassroots coalition that ran a $60 million five-and-a-half year campaign from 2008-2013 to pass, protect, and promote the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and protect Medicare and Medicaid. HCAN has come back together to fight the Republicans’ all-out effort to take away America’s health care and put people at the mercy of the health insurance companies again.
