Short-Term House Spending Bill Funds CHIP Program

A short-term House spending bill to fund the government until January 19 will include roughly $3 billion to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The continuing resolution released early Thursday gives CHIP $2.85 billion through the end of March and includes $750 million in funding for new community health centers as well as special diabetes program that lacks funds.

CHIP funding expired on September 30, however, the Republicans and Democrats have yet to find a compromise on how to fund the children’s health insurance program. The CHIP program helps states provide insurance to low-income children.

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel spewed several false narrative about CHIP earlier this month about the CHIP program, while encouraging Americans to purchase Obamacare or pay the individual mandate penalty.

Kimmel whined, “Congress failed to approve funding for CHIP for the first time, it was created two decades ago, this is literally a life and death program for American kids. And it’s always had bipartisan support, but this year they let the money for it expire while they work on getting tax cuts for their millionaire and billionaire donors.”

Contrary to Kimmel’s monologue, President Donald Trump signed a stop-gap government funding on December 8 which avoided a government shutdown and funded the CHIP program, which will allow states running out of CHIP funding to access unused federal dollars to continue funding their state CHIP program.

Long-term funding CHIP currently remains in limbo while Republicans and Democrats continue to negotiate a compromise government funding bill; House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi promised to block any government funding legislation that does not include amnesty for Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) illegal aliens.

In November the House passed their CHIP bill 242-174 against overwhelming Democratic opposition. Last month the Senate Finance Committee passed their version of CHIP funding last month.

Congress gave President Donald Trump more flexibility to use redistribution funds to states, which allowed local governments to continue funding CHIP.

“We will not leave here without a DACA fix,” Pelosi said of the government funding negotiations between her and President Donald Trump.