Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of the Eighteenth District of Florida Votes Against Health Care for Poor Children

How sad it is to be represented by a Republican with such a safe seat that she can vote against her community's interests.

Final Vote Results for Roll Call 906: Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of the 18th District of Florida voted against the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act which would have expanded the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). In other words, she voted against insuring another four million kids who lack health insurance because their parents simply don't make enough money to pay for it.

Florida has an estimated 658,000 uninsured children. This bill would have provided health insurance for about 240,000 of them (down from the larger number in the original Democratic version of the bill). But even that one-third increase was too much for Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who toed the GOP party line that effective government programs must not be allowed to grow, for fear that people might start to believe that government can actually help them.

What a terrible, terrible vote. It's not the childrens' fault that their parents are poor. And the amount of money at stake is remarkably low in the grand scheme of things — compared to tax cuts for the richest Americans for example.

Will no one rid of this representative who votes against our interests?

[Update: cf. Who Will Run Against Ros-Lehtinen? (All Politics Is Local).]

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2 Responses to Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of the Eighteenth District of Florida Votes Against Health Care for Poor Children

  1. Priscilla Greenfield says:

    How tragic and very sad, but at the same time typical, that Ms. Ros-Lehtinen,
    who lives in one of the poorest cities in the country (Miami) can muster plenty of
    strength to keep voting billions monthly to Iraq but can’t do so to help American
    children in her own city and state. While claiming to be pro-life, she has proven
    is pro-war and pro-womb but won’t do a thing to assist poor children to have a
    better quality of life and future by giving them the basic right to health care.
    So, it’s back to the emergency room for these children, the most expensive health
    care there is that will be paid by taxpayers. Absolutely pathetic.
    Shame on her.

  2. LACJ says:

    Speak it, Ma’am! Love the high-quality shrillness!

    Womb-babies got a right to live. After that, they are on their own.

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