SCHIP Wall of Shame: Sue Myrick, (R) NC-09

Families USA has erected a “Wall of Shame” on their website, and my opponent, Rep. Sue Myrick, (R), NC-09, has earned her place by voting NO to expand kids health care coverage, and NO to override Bush’s veto of this bill.

There’s more at Families USA

You can find Myrick in the third column on the wall of shame, and I’m embarrassed that she represents me in Congress!
But Rep. Myrick insists she was for SCHIP before she was against it:

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), Charlotte Observer: When SCHIP began in 1997, "I supported it," and "I still support" it, but this bill "has lost its focus" because it "opens up avenues for wealthier families and adults to be covered," this "particular bill was not considered by any committee in Congress, and ... it promotes too much government involvement in family health care decisions."(Myrick, Charlotte Observer, 10/11).

Really?
Well the Charlotte Observer’s Fannie Flono disagrees regarding which families would be covered:

As for the idea that, as President Bush avowed, "a program that was meant to help poor children was being turned into one for middle income children whose family incomes were up to $83,000" -- not true. Most of the children covered -- 70 percent -- by the expanded bill would be in families making less than $40,000 a year. Most of the rest would be in families making less than $62,000.

What about promoting too much government in family health decisions?

Dan Gerlach, senior fiscal policy adviser to Gov. Easley says the state will muddle through with the extension but will face a unhappy choice without more money for the future. "We'll either have to cut kids off the program or state taxpayers will pay."
North Carolina is not the only state to face that dilemma. At least 12 others are in the same boat. Complicating matters is the rising cost of health care, and the decline in employers providing insurance, particularly in North Carolina, a new study shows.
"This is not a problem that's going away," Gerlach said. The expansion bill would have been "excellent" for North Carolina because it would have allowed the state to finally cover all the children eligible, he said.

It seems to me (and Flono) that families without access to healthcare would welcome that opportunity for government help vs. the alternative risk to their kids' health and/or potential for financial crisis if a medical emergency occurs.
It’s time that we begin addressing the serious health care crisis in this country now! We must start by protecting and nurturing our country’s future by expanding SCHIP.

The Charlotte Observer Editorial Board urged Rep Myrick to reconsider:

SCHIP has "made remarkable inroads" in efforts to reduce the number of uninsured children, the editorial states, adding, "It's hardly surprising then that in a nationwide poll, 91% of Americans said they want Congress to help states cover more uninsured children." According to the editorial, lawmakers who voted against the legislation "should reconsider and help override" Bush's veto (Charlotte Observer, 10/4).

Rep. Myrick won’t break from the Bush fold and vote to help kids, which is one of the many reasons why I’m running for her seat. I will work hard to make sure that no child is left behind without access to medical care, no family will face bankruptcy or financial ruin because of a medical crisis. I’ll work hard to refocus our resources on America’s needs at home, paying special attention to our health care crisis.

Together we can do this.
Cheers,
Harry

Learn more about my campaign at Harry Taylor for Congress

And help at Act Blue

Seen on a road in Charlotte, NC:

Cross-posted at Daily Kos
Updated: I just got word that Sue Myrick voted NO...again...on SCHIP