Stimulus Keeps Millions Out of Poverty and Increasing Health Insurance Coverage for Children -- September 17, 2010

A recent Census Bureau report provides sobering statistics on poverty in the United States. This report demonstrates quite clearly that fallout from the near collapse of Wall Street fell disproportionately on low-income families. Massive layoffs, decimated 401ks and a rise in home foreclosures forced millions of Americans into poverty overnight.

While much of the report is troubling, I was pleased to hear that actions taken by Congress and President Obama in passing the Recovery Act, health care reform and extending unemployment insurance prevented over three million Americans from falling into poverty. Bold, decisive leadership in Washington in the wake of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression gave many Americans the tools they needed to stay above the poverty level, retain their health insurance and keep their homes.

This report clearly shows the positive impact our actions have had on working-class Americans, but we still have much to do to bring those who have fallen on hard times out of poverty. Rest assured, I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress to fight poverty and get hard working Hoosiers back to work.

Earlier this month, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius issued a report that nearly five million uninsured children have yet to be enrolled in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In this great nation of ours, I believe no child should have to skip a visit to the doctor's office or forego getting their prescriptions filled due to a lack of health insurance-especially when they qualify for Medicaid or CHIP.

As your Congressional Representative, one of my top priorities is to promote and support initiatives that improve children's access to quality health care. That's why I was delighted to hear about Departments of Health and Human Services and Education's Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge. This program, supported by a broad coalition of state governors, federal agencies, national organizations and private enterprises, aims to enroll five million children in Medicaid or CHIP over the next five years. These programs provide an invaluable resource to low and middle income families, so I encourage parents of uninsured children to explore the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge website, which can be found here.

Thank you for reading the Carson Courier. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts and concerns. For more information, please visit my website at https://www.carson.house.gov and my new Congressional Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanAndreCarson. I value your views and your input which help me to better represent the people of Indiana's 7th District in Congress.