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July 24, 2007

The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The nation's governors call on Congress and the Administration to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) prior to September 30, 2007. The authorization for this critical safety net program will soon expire and urgent action is needed to ensure its continued success for the next five years. For many reasons, defaulting to a series of temporary extensions of the program would be untenable for states and the millions of children who rely upon the program.

While we have not taken a position on the actual overall funding amount or the sources of revenue used as offsets, we are encouraged by the Senate Finance Committee's efforts to move a bipartisan reauthorization bill that provides increased funding and reflects the general philosophy that state flexibility and options and incentives for states are preferable to mandates. Our recently enacted policy on SCHIP and a series of letters we have sent since February outline our positions on these issues in more detail.

We look forward to working with you to ensure that a sensible bipartisan SCHIP reauthorization can be signed into law in a timely and certain manner.

Sincerely,

 

Governor Tim Pawlenty

Governor Edward G. Rendell

 

Governor James H. Douglas
Chair, Health and Human Services Committee

 

Governor Jon S. Corzine
Vice Chair, Health and Human Services Committee

 

Governor Janet Napolitano
Arizona

 

Governor Deval Patrick
Massachusetts

 

Governor Ruth Ann Minner
Delaware

 

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm
Michigan

 

Governor M. Jodi Rell
Connecticut

 

Governor Brian Schweitzer
Montana

 

Governor Mike Beebe
Arkansas

 

Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
Louisiana

 

Governor M. Michael Rounds
South Dakota

 

Governor Bill Ritter
Colorado

 

Governor John Baldacci
Maine

 

Governor Brad Henry
Oklahoma

 

Governor Martin O’Malley
Maryland

 

Governor Benigno Fitial
Northern Mariana Islands

 

Governor Rod Blagojevich
Illinois

 

Governor Felix Perez Camacho
Guam

 

Governor Christine O. Gregoire
Washington

 

Governor Eliot Spitzer
New York

 

Governor Jim Doyle
Wisconsin

 

Governor Ernie Fletcher
Kentucky

 

Governor Chester J. Culver
Iowa

 

Governor Sonny Perdue
Georgia

 

Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.
Utah

 

Governor Bill Richardson
New Mexico

 

Governor Kathleen Sebelius
Kansas

 

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
California

 

Governor Timothy M. Kaine
Virginia

 

Governor Dave Heineman
Nebraska

 

Governor Ted Strickland
Ohio

 

Governor Michael F. Easley
North Carolina

 

Governor Don Carcieri
Rhode Island

 

Governor Jim Gibbons
Nevada

 

Governor John Lynch
New Hampshire

 

Governor Linda Lingle
Hawaii

 

Governor Theodore Kulongoski
Oregon

 

Governor Dave Freudenthal
Wyoming

 

Governor Phil Bredesen
Tennessee

 

Governor John Hoeven
North Dakota

 

Governor Sarah Palin
Alaska

 

 

 

 
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