Stop The Cigarette-Smoker Hatin'

Dear Ms. Cooke,

Thank you for taking the time to contact my office about the use of a cigarette excise tax to fund the State Children's Health Program (SCHIP). Your input is important to me, and I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts.

On August 2, I voted to reauthorize and fund SCHIP because I believe it has been an important and successful program and because I made a commitment to Tennesseans to do all that I can to expand access to affordable health insurance. While this reauthorization bill is far from perfect, it does ensure that more low-income children in Tennessee and across America will have health insurance. I believe this is our moral obligation.

As you know, the Senate SCHIP reauthorization bill is funded by an increase in the federal excise tax on tobacco. I agree with you that this is an imperfect way to expand SCHIP. During the debate on this issue, I supported an amendment that would sunset this funding source after 5 years. Unfortunately, this amendment was voted down.

The SCHIP reauthorization is only a short-term and partial solution to a much larger crisis facing our country: the 45 million Americans, including 800,000 Tennesseans, who lack adequate health insurance. Beyond the chaos for our healthcare system and the economy, the health and emotional toll is enormous.

As a first step towards comprehensively addressing this crisis, I, along with Senator Burr (R-NC) and others introduced the Every American Insured Health Act, S.1886, a proposal that ensures all Americans have access to affordable healthcare coverage without contributing to our ballooning national debt. This proposal is meant to be a starting point of a larger debate aimed at addressing a healthcare crisis facing Americans across our country and I look forward to pursuing this important issue.

Thank you again for your letter. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts with me over the next six years.

Sincerely,

Bob Corker
United States Senator