Warner Urges: Fund Health Care for Children, Not War
Published by California Chronicle
August 30, 2007
Rancho Cucamonga - Russ Warner, a Democrat running for Congress in California's 26th District, yesteday challenged Congressman David Dreier to put his support behind programs to help millions of un-insured children, rather than continuing to support Bush's failed Iraq war.
Taxpayers in the 26th Congressional District will have paid $1.3 billion for the cost of the Iraq War through 2007. For the same amount of money, health care could have been supplied to 495,016 children, according to the National Priorities Project.
"This is a pattern for Mr. Dreier," Warner said. "He is more concerned with helping the lobbyists and big corporations who give him money than helping insure 5 million children who would otherwise have no access to health care and not get the preventive care they need to stay healthy,"
Recently, Dreier voted against legislation to expand federal health insurance programs for children of the working poor. He has remained silent on the Bush Administration¹s new standards that are making it much more difficult for California to extend health insurance coverage to children in middle-income families.
"I urge Mr. Dreier to stand up to the Bush Administration¹s policies that are hurting the children of working families who have no access to health care," Warner said. "These actions go against the will of the people. Before the recess, Congress voted to expand federal health insurance programs for children, not reduce them."
Under federal guidelines, families are eligible for the Children¹s Health Insurance Program if they fall below the poverty level, which for a family of four is $20,650 in annual income. In California, where the cost of living is higher, the state wants to increase its income limit to 300 percent of the poverty level, from 250 percent, or just $51,625 for a family of four.
"Mr. Dreier's priorities are all wrong," said Warner, a small businessman and 27-year resident of Rancho Cucamonga. "He continues to stand with the Bush Administration in support of the war in Iraq, draining the resources we need to fund important programs at home, like children¹s health care."
Warner announced his run for Congress in June, saying he is taking on the fight because the war in Iraq must be stopped and because America needs new leadership with fewer career politicians like Dreier. The devastating cost of the war was brought home to Warner and his family in a personal way.
Warner's son Greg served in the military and was sent to Iraq for seventeen months.
