Children Go Without Insurance In Texas

After seeing the mean policies of the Texas Republican leadership, this shouldn't have surprised me -- but it did. I already knew that one out of every four children in Texas lives in poverty (significantly larger than the one in five national average) and state leaders didn't seem to care, because they slashed the social and educational programs that would help these kids the last time the legislature was in session. But I thought surely they would supply these kids with a minimum amount of health insurance.

I was wrong. Using both state and national government data, the non-partisan Center for Public Policy priorities has determined that there are at least 1,200,000 children in this state that have no health insurance at all. That puts these children at serious risk, since 90% of children with insurance are considered healthy while only 58% of children without insurance are healthy.

This disgraceful situation exists in a state that Republicans nationwide say is a model for other states to emulate. But they say that because Texas has very low taxes for the rich and corporations (while the workers and the poor pay a much higher percentage of their income in taxes) -- and the rich are the only people Republicans care about.

There is no excuse for 1.2 million Texas children to be without health insurance. But the governor and legislature think it is more important to play politics on the health issue than to actually provide help to these children (or adults, where the uninsured rate is 27%). They have turned down federal funds tied to health care and severely underfunded Medicaid -- just to please their teabagger base.

What will happen to these kids? The only health care available to them will be in hospital emergency rooms, and is not set up to provide that kind of care. It just makes those emergency rooms more crowded (and more expensive since these patients will likely be unable to pay). And too many kids with serious diseases will find it too late to be helped by the time they are sick enough for an emergency room.

The Republicans claim they cannot afford to cover all these children with health care, but the truth is that it must be paid for somewhere. They have just made sure it will be paid for the most inefficient and expensive way (by raising local taxes for public hospitals, and by raising the cost of all medical procedures in both public and private hospitals -- which raises the cost of insurance for everyone).

This is just one more example of why Republicans should be voted out of power.

Cornyn Shows His True Colors

Most people who watch what is happening in Washington have known for quite a while now that "Box Turtle" John Cornyn is one of the least effective legislators in the U.S. Senate. He has been little more than a lapdog for the current president. Regardless of how bad a bill might be for the citizens of Texas and America, Bush can always count on support from "Box Turtle" John.

But just before Congress adjourned for the summer, "Box Turtle" John cast a couple of votes in the Senate that highlights just how bad a senator he is, and how out of touch with American citizens he has become. These two votes were so out of the mainstream, that I can only assume he was trying to protect the corporations and lobbyists that supply so much of his campaign money -- money he will need to stave off a strong Democratic challenge in 2008.

The first of these two ridiculous votes was a vote against children. Millions of poor and working class children in America do not have any health insurance coverage. Evidently "Box Turtle" John thinks that is the way it should be. He joined 30 of his Republican buddies in voting to oppose increasing the funds available for the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

He said his vote was to prevent a government takeover of health care. But the truth is that he receives large donations from insurance and drug companies, and his vote was to protect these corporate interests at the expense of America's children. Whatever the reason, it is just sick to vote to deny health insurance to children. Since the insurance and drug companies won't address the problem of insuring children, who is left to get it done other than the government?

The second of his ridiculous votes was his vote against ethics reform. The American people are sick of government by lobbyists. One of the reasons that Democrats made a major comeback in the last election was because of the lack of ethical behavior between the Republicans and the K Street lobbyists.

The ethics reform bill would limit the gifts and money a lobbyist could give a congressman or senator. It would also force lobbyists to publicly disclose the number and amount of campaign donations they give to individual candidates. With his close ties to corporate lobbyists, it is easy to see why "Box Turtle" John voted against ethics reform (He was one of only 13 senators to vote against it). He doesn't want the people of Texas to know just how much money he receives from the lobbyists.

Do you really want a senator that opposes both children's health insurance and ethics reform? I certainly don't! That's why I'm supporting Rick Noriega for U.S. Senate. I can assure you that Lt. Colonel Noriega would have voted in favor of both of these bills.

If you don't support the indefensible voting record of our current senator, "Box Turtle" John Cornyn, then it is time to step forward and support the only viable alternative for 2008 -- State Rep. Rick Noriega. If we are to defeat Cornyn in 2008, then we must start now to support Noriega both politically and financially.

Rick Noriega isn't rich, and he doesn't receive money from the corporate lobbyists. He is depending on support from common folks like you and me. You don't have to give a lot, but please do give something! Even a very small donation will help more than you could imagine. If you'd like to donate online, go to ricknoriega.com. If you'd prefer to send a check or money order by mail, then send it to this address:

Rick Noriega Campaign

P.O. Box 231163

Houston, Texas

77223-1163

Help stop Cornyn now, and give Texas a senator we can be proud of.