Washington - United States Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) and Jack Reed (D-RI), called on key Senate leaders to act quickly to ensure health care coverage for thousands of needy children and families is protected. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the lawmakers and 15 of their colleagues urged the Senate to provide critical funds for the State Childrens Health Insurance Program a program that serves children most in need across the country.

Should the Senate fail to act and close a projected $745 million shortfall, fourteen U.S. states would be forced to slash critical health care coverage for thousands of their neediest children and families.

"As legislators, one of our most important obligations is to protect the most vulnerable members of our society our children," Menendez said. "A fully funded SCHIP program can ensure the health of millions, but with the $119.3 million in shortfall that New Jersey alone will face, this becomes a more trying task. We must act immediately to fund SCHIP as well as work toward a long term solution to secure this vital program and guarantee the well being of our nations families."

"More than 14,000 low income children now receive health insurance through the State Childrens Health Insurance Program in Maine alone, and more than four million nationally. The success of SCHIP is indisputable," said Snowe. "The effectiveness and continued growth of this program has increased both its importance and its need. The budget shortfall for this fiscal year could leave more than 600,000 children without coverage, and that is simply unacceptable. We cannot afford to lose ground on the progress that has been made and must take action to ensure states have the funding they need to not only maintain coverage, but continue to increase the number of eligible people enrolled."

"Millions of families nationwide and thousands of Rhode Islanders depend on SCHIP for their health care needs," said Reed. "This program has been a great success. Last year, we were able to negotiate a deal to address SCHIPs immediate funding gaps, but it is not sufficient to carry shortfall states like mine until the end of the fiscal year. While we must provide another temporary fix, it is crucial that we reauthorize SCHIP and secure the long-term financial health of this vital, bipartisan program."

SCHIP is jointly funded by states and the federal government, and provides comprehensive health insurance coverage to more than four million low-income children who would otherwise be uninsured. Under current law, 14 states are estimated to have nearly $745 million less in federal SCHIP funds than they need in 2007 to maintain their existing enrollment of children. Without a fix to the SCHIP funding shortfall, 610,000 children would be at risk of losing their health insurance coverage.

The number of uninsured Americans reached a record level of 46.6 million in 2005, 1.3 million more than in 2004, and 5.4 million more than in 2001 primarily because of the erosion of employer-based coverage.

Other senators signing on to the letter include, John F. Kerry (D-MA), Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Barack Obama (D-IL), Russell D. Feingold (D-WI), Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

Last month, Menendez, Snowe, and Reed were joined by several colleagues in calling on Senate leaders to enact emergency legislation to fully fund SCHIP before projected shortfalls force needy children off insurance rolls.

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