conference report deliberately deletes a provision previously approved by the House of Representatives to restore health care coverage for Latino and other legal immigrant children. We cannot support legislation that extends health coverage to some children while explicitly excluding legal immigrant children. We urge Congress to reject the conference report and go back to the drawing board to develop SCHIP reauthorization legislation which will provide health care coverage equitably. Latino children. who represent twofifths of uninsured children. are overwhelmingly disconnected from health coverage. so it remains essential for Congress to address the core barriers that prevent them from gaining access to health care. While we acknowledge that the bill has some provisions that will broaden coverage opportunities for some of Americas children. including some Latinos. we are deeply dismayed that it fails to include the language of the "Legal Immigrant Childrens Health Improvement Act (Legal ICHIA)." which was passed by the House of Representatives with widespread bipartisan support. This important proposal addresses arbitrary restrictions to Medicaid and SCRIP for legal immigrant children and pregnant women and has the potential to extend coverage for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children. We are particularly disheartened that a congressional debate which is focused on expanding access to health care to children would perpetuate an exclusion for legal immigrants. It is disingenuous to say to the Latino community that health care is being expanded when a significant proportion of our children are not included. We cannot accept this unjust and unnecessary inequity.
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