From AP:
House Republicans quietly distributed a survey by David Winston, who is close to Boehner, that came to a different conclusion. It said critics of the legislation can win the public debate if they say they favor "covering uninsured children without expanding government coverage to adults, illegal immigrants and those who already have insurance...." A copy of the poll was obtained by The Associated Press.
In other words, Boehner is telling House members trust him, they can only win if they lie. From AJC:
Claim: Illegal immigrants will be able to sign up for benefits. It is against federal law for illegal immigrants to sign up for SCHIP programs. That wouldn't change.
This didn't take long to get around.
AS I SEE IT: SCHIP expansion would help the wrong people
Every dollar of this expanded program we spend covering adults, children who previously had private health insurance and the families of illegal immigrants is money we are not spending on children this program is intended to help.
-Sam Graves, R Missouri
Which uninsured children are the wrong people? And who is this program intended to help?
This report provides an overview of citizen and noncitizen children in immigrant families in the United States and their access to SCHIP. The section entitled "Immigrant Children at Risk" describes the population, their rising numbers, and their lack of health insurance. The next section reviews the effects of the 1996 welfare reform law on immigrants' eligibility for health care, and studies that indicate enrollment is down even for eligible immigrant families. The report then examines some of the factors affecting enrollment, such as fears of public charge, verification of citizenship and immigrant status, and language and cultural barriers. Finally, the paper outlines examples of state responses through state-funded health care and improvements in outreach, application and enrollment. Examples from California, Texas, New Mexico and Florida are given. The appendices include definitions for common immigration terms and a description of federal funds available for outreach and enrollment to the immigrant population (SCHIP, Medicaid, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.)
The above report is from the dangerous fringe radical group known as the National Conference of State Legislatures. While Boehner appeals to Fortress America, state legislatures are trying to sign these eligible kids up, because we all pay for their care in ERs when they don't get care in a medical home. That's why 45 43 governors support SCHIP, from Jodi Rell (R-CT) to Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA).
You have to wonder sometimes how Boehner and his Republican allies in the House can look at themselves in the mirror.