releases: https://byrne.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/byrne-votes-to-keep-communities-healthy
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://byrne.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/byrne-votes-to-keep-communities-healthy | Byrne Votes to Keep Communities Healthy | 2017-11-03 | 2017 | 2017-11 | Republican | House | AL | Bradley Byrne | B001289 | byrne.house.gov | legacy | Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL) today voted in favor of legislation to reauthorize and fund important public health programs, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Community Health Centers Fund. Congressman Byrne said: “I have seen the success of these important public health programs firsthand, and I am pleased the House has acted to ensure they continue. “Alabama’s CHIP program, known as All Kids, has helped countless children gain access to affordable health insurance. At the same time, community health centers throughout Southwest Alabama help patients every single day. “The Senate should act quickly on this bipartisan legislation to ensure these programs continue without disruption.” The bill includes a five-year extension of CHIP and a two-year extension of Federally Qualified Health Centers, National Health Sciences Corps, Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education, Family-to-Family Health Information Centers, the Youth Empowerment Program, and the Personal Responsibility Education Program. All new spending in the bill is offset with cuts to other programs and spending reforms. Byrne delivered a speech on the House floor in favor of the legislation. A transcript of his speech can be found below. Byrne said: “I thank my colleague for yielding, and I rise to extend my support for this rule and the underlying legislation. “This legislation funds critical, bipartisan health programs that help keep our communities healthy. We, as a Congress, have a clear responsibility to support these programs. “Mr. Speaker, I have long been a strong supporter of the CHIP program because I have seen it in action back in my home state of Alabama. “I served on the Alabama State School Board back when Alabama implemented our CHIP program, known as All Kids. All Kids was the first CHIP program in the country and it has made a real difference. In fact, the uninsurance rate for children in Alabama has gone from 20% pre-CHIP to 2.4% today. “For 83,000 Alabama children under 19, the program offers low-cost, comprehensive healthcare coverage that includes regular checkups, immunizations, sick child doctor visits, prescriptions, vision care, dental care, and much more. “CHIP has always been a bipartisan program, and I hope this reauthorization will also earn bipartisan support. “The legislation also reauthorizes the Community Health Centers Fund. I am a huge champion of Community Health Centers because, again, I have seen them work in Alabama. “From Mostellar Medical Center in Bayou La Batre to Franklin Primary Health to Southwest Alabama Health Services in McIntosh, these centers are vitally important to so many Americans, especially to low-income families and those in rural areas. “One in 13 people nationwide rely on a health center for their health care needs, and this reauthorization is necessary to ensure those individuals continue to have access to medical care. “This legislation also includes many other health care provisions to meet other priorities. Among these provisions, I am pleased the legislation continues Medicaid Disproportionate Share payments, or DSH payments as they are commonly known. “DSH provides funding to hospitals that treat a large number of indigent patients. DSH is absolutely critical to the life of Alabama’s hospitals, and failure to renew these important payments could result in numerous hospital closures in my state. “So, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get behind this legislation and ensure it gets across the finish line. “We should not let petty political arguments keep us from ensuring children have access to affordable health insurance, keeping the doors open at Community Health Centers, or allowing Alabama’s hospitals to continue serving communities in need.” | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |