Your voices have been heard! Before leaving for its August recess, the House passed the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act, a bill that would strengthen and improve health coverage for uninsured children. Specifically, it includes more than $47 billion in new funding over 5 years to provide health coverage for uninsured children under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid, as well as policy improvements that will help states cover 4.1 million of the nine million uninsured children in America today. Meanwhile, the Senate also passed a bill to strengthen and improve SCHIP. The Senate bill includes only $35 billion in new funding over 5 years and it has fewer policy improvements than the House-passed bill, which will only help states cover 3.1 million uninsured children.

Although neither of the bills would provide health coverage to all uninsured children, they both take a step towards reducing the number of uninsured children substantially. All of this progress would not have been possible without everyone’s hard work — including yours! Thanks to all of you for your hard work- from Susie and from the millions of children without coverage- in reaching out to your members of Congress and letting them know that 9 million uninsured children need a solution- today.

However, Susie’s mission is far from over. The House- and Senate-passed bills will now go to conference, where their differences will be resolved, and when Congress reconvenes in September, both legislative bodies are expected to vote on the negotiated package. On top of that, the final bill still faces the threat of a veto from President Bush. Now is the time to tell our elected officials that EVERY child matters and demand they fund an expansion of SCHIP to at least the $47 billion level as proposed by the House. Millions of children are counting on you!

Apparently, CNN’s letter got lost in the mail - Susie never received her invitation to YouTube and CNN’s presidential debates to be hosted this summer and fall.
 
Luckily, CNN is still providing a chance for Susie to address the important issue of health care coverage for all children in America by letting people submit video questions for the candidates in the debates to answer. As you might have guessed, Susie has an important question to ask the candidates: how do you choose which children don’t get health insurance?

Make sure the presidential candidates hear this question – and answer it! The more people that ask "How?" the less the issue can be ignored – submit your own video question about the nine million uninsured children in America today. Make sure you hurry - the deadline for the Democratic candidates’ debate is July 22!

Susie has found a bunch of new supporters this week thanks to her latest ads running on your favorite weblogs. People are ready for a serious conversation about the need to insure all children in America, and discussions about Susie’s campaign and how we can spread that message have already started.  We’ve already seen two posts on Daily Kos (here and here) talking about Susie (including one with a poll where the winning vote is that Susie would “absolutely” make a good president!)

Check out some of the comments left by Kos readers:

“Susie Flynn’s campaign has the aura of inevitability, with her seeming lock on the parents’ vote. Plus, she has that "fresh-face" outsider appeal.”

“I too couldn’t tear my eyes away from the Susie ad.”

“Cute kid… She’s got my vote.”

“Seriously though, if we as adults want to screw up our own lives, that’s one thing.  But lets provide the best we can for our children. Vote Susie!”

As a few comments have noted, Susie is just beginning to reach wider audiences on the internet thanks to her latest ads. You can help further Susie’s campaign to ensure health care coverage for all 9 million children in America – email your Members of Congress and tell them they must expand and improve children’s health coverage so that all children and pregnant women — not just some — are guaranteed comprehensive, easy-to-obtain health and mental health coverage.

At any moment, the Senate is expected to make a decision that will affect millions of children nationwide. Over the past 10 years the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) has helped to reduce the number of uninsured children in America, but nearly 9 million children are still uninsured and millions more are underinsured. Funding for SCHIP expires this year, and your Senators will have the opportunity to vote to expand health care funding to cover ALL children. It’s an important step in reaching Susie’s campaign goal of finding a solution for the 9 million uninsured children in America.

But first, at least 60 of the 100 Senators must agree to bring SCHIP legislation to the Senator floor. Make sure your voice is heard today on this important vote by e-mailing your Senators and telling them to vote “yes” to bring SCHIP legislation to the Senate floor and to expand SCHIP funding to cover all children. It’s easy, it only takes a few minutes, and children cannot wait.

And if you haven’t already, check out the latest ads from the Children’s Defense Fund highlighting why passing this legislation this year is so important.

In a new video from the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), Marc Bostic, father of four, tells his story of a car accident that left his back broken and his sciatic nerve permanently damaged. Marc Bostic subsequently lost his job and his children lost their health insurance. In the video, Marc pleads Congress for help this year for the nine million children without health insurance, including his own.

Watch Marc’s video on the CDF website and give a voice to all fathers and uninsured children this Father’s Day by taking action today!