Childers takes party line vote on S-CHIP

Childers goes with spenders over Barbour and GOP on S-CHIP

Gov. Haley Barbour at an afternoon news conference today spoke out against Congress’ plan to expand the State Children’s Insurance Program, saying that it’s unfair to poorer states like Mississippi.

“I urge our senators to vote against it unless its discrimination against the needy children of our state is corrected,” Barbour said.

Democratic Reps. Travis Childers of the 1st District, Bennie Thompson of the 2nd District and Gene Taylor of the 4th District voted for the reauthorization of the program. Third District Rep. Gregg Harper voted against it.

Childers, D-Booneville, held a news conference this morning at North Mississippi Pediatrics in Tupelo to discuss the issue.

“During these tough economic times, more and more hard working Americans are losing their jobs, and parents are struggling to provide heath care coverage for their children,” Childers said in a news release. “Too many of Mississippi’s children lack health insurance. Without the reauthorization of SCHIP, Mississippi would face significant funding shortfalls and would be forced to drop children from coverage.”

“Covering our children now means hard working taxpayers won’t have to foot the bill for more costly problems in the future,” he said.

But Barbour said no child in Mississippi has been turned away by the program before, despite inadequate funding from the federal government.

“If it were about health care for poor children, the bill would not shortchange the poor children of Mississippi by tens of millions of dollars,” Barbour said.

Barbour worries that the expansion of the program will create a system that gives funding to wealthier families in other states before the needs of poorer Mississippi families are met, he said.

“It is critical Mississippi’s poor children be provided for before children in New York and New Jersey, whose families make $65,000 or, in some cases, even $88,000 a year,” he said.

Meridian Q&A With Harper

The Meridian Star recently interviewed Gregg Harper.

The Star: Do you plan a home in Washington, or will you be commuting?

Harper: "I'm definitely a commuter. The plan right now is to fly in on Monday and fly back either late Thursday or sometime Friday. Then, on the weekends, I'll be working from home. But it's important that I make time for my family. That is a must."

The Star: What is the most important piece of legislation Congress is dealing with at this time?

Harper: "One of them is the SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) that we voted on last week. (The legislation is a $31.5 billion measure to expand the program for another 4 1/2 years). I support the reauthorization of SCHIP, but the version that the liberal Democrats put forward so expanded the program — took it from $30 billion to $65 billion — and will now cover folks that make close to $80,000 a year, and adults. The thing that bothered me the most is that they're saying $5 billion of that will go to provide benefits to illegals. It also removes the face-to-face meeting, which absolutely opens the program to fraud. We have to remember that this was a Republican-led bill more than a decade ago as part of the Welfare Reform Act.

It was a very good concept to take those on welfare and prepare them for the workforce. And it's now, as most government programs do, grown into something too big.

The Star: What is the most pressing issue that your constituency will be facing in the coming year that you hope to address?

Harper: "Most of our folks back home — yes there were foreclosures and lost jobs — but most were doing OK until $4 a gallon of gas. That hurt our students, our low income folks, our seniors ... and we haven't fixed it. We're already seeing it inch back up. We've done absolutely nothing to fix it. We have some folks over here in government policy positions and their goal is the reduction and use of fossil fuels. They have a micro goal when they should have an overall goal that includes some control that allows us to drill offshore and any place when can get natural gas ... and things like clean coal technology in Kemper County. And we have to explore nuclear. We should be about anything that keeps us from sending our nation's wealth to the Middle East or other foreign countries. I just don't think we can afford going back to $4 gas. We've got to fix that."

Pay Raise, Rahm Emanuel

Childers opposed to congressional pay raise this year - "I just think this is a bad moment for us to take a pay raise," said 1st District Rep. Travis Childers, a Democrat. "I'm not opposed to a pay raise. I'm just opposed to one this year."

Childers' friend in high places - Wiseman also noted freshman Democratic Rep. Travis Childers, “from what I understand, made a very close friend during his first few days in office — Rahm Emanuel,” now Obama’s chief of staff.

Harper on Budget Committee

From a Harper release:

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Representative Gregg Harper (R-MS) was appointed by the Steering Committee Thursday to the Committee on the Budget earning his third committee seat for the 111th Congress pending Conference approval. This prestigious committee sets guidelines in the annual budget resolution for monitoring federal programs to meet spending projections.

"I am excited to welcome Congressman Gregg Harper as the newest member of the House Budget Committee," said Ranking Republican Member Paul Ryan (WI-01). "In coming to grips with a deepening recession and a soaring budget deficit, his commitment to fiscal discipline and pro-growth economic policies will be an asset to this committee and to this nation."

"I am honored to join Congressman Ryan and I look forward to working with the members of the committee as we tackle the huge task of controlling the federal budget," said Congressman Harper. "In these times of economic uncertainty, the American people know we cannot borrow and spend our way back to prosperity and I plan to follow these conservative principles as a member of this committee."

The Committee on the Budget was established during a time of overwhelming budget deficits when Congress faced increasing challenges of managing long-term programs, such as Social Security and Medicare. The committee is the first panel to review the President's annual budget message and is responsible for the adoption of a draft budget resolution.

Congressman Harper is the only Republican freshman appointed by Republican Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) to the Committee on House Administration and also sits on the Committee on Judiciary. As a member of the Republican Steering Committee, he is been responsible for assisting in the placement of committee appointments for all 435 members of the House among other leadership responsibilities.

This esteemed committee appointment concludes Congressman Harper's committee assignments for the 111th Congress.

A flag, money, and jobs

Calhoun County Journal - Mayor J.R. Denton suggested guard rails as a possibility, but said he will contact the highway department tomorrow about the situation.
In other action, the board approved a proposal from the Park and Recreational Advisory Board to stagger the terms of its members as follows: Woody Jones 2012; Greg Lunceford 2010; Sam Phillips 2009; Chris Lee 2013; Mark Goodson 2011.
They voted to pay Mississippi Economic Council dues of $302.50. The council had asked for a voluntary raise of $30.25. Denton told the board that Assistant Police Chief Greg Pollan has been appointed North District Vice President of the Association of Mississippi Criminal Investigators. He said Congressman Travis Childers, who was unable to attend Calhoun City’s Open House for the newly renovated City Hall, sent apologies and a flag that was flown over the state capitol.

Commercial Appeal - Lewisburg Volunteer Fire Department has been awarded $31,540 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to improve safety and fund operations, Rep. Travis Childers, D-Miss., has announced. "These funds are critical to ensuring the safety of North Mississippi families," Childers said. "FEMA's investment in our local communities will help provide our fire departments with the equipment and resources they need to keep North Mississippi safe."

Commercial Dispatch - U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development approved a $1,842,000 loan and $3,158,000 grant for Lowndes County Industrial Development Authority, Congressman Travis Childers, D-Miss., announced today. “The USDA’s grants are a significant and important commitment to the people of Lowndes County’s health and safety, as well as the community’s ability to support its local industries,” said Childers. “The funds will ensure that the (Lowndes County) industrial park is able to serve both current and future users.”

Commercial Dispatch - Fifty former employees of Outdoor Technologies may get new jobs at the same facility soon, with the announcement ProVia Door has purchased the plant. Congressman Travis Childers, D-Miss., Monday announced ProVia Door had purchased Heartland Building Products in Booneville, Infinite Building Products in Olive Branch and Outdoor Technologies in Macon. “I am extremely pleased that these three companies, which provide so many important jobs to the hard-working people of North Mississippi, are no longer facing closure,” Childers said in a press release. “Heartland, Infinite Building Products and Outdoor Technologies are important contributors to our region’s economy, and ProVia’s purchase has prevented a great loss to North Mississippi’s communities and families.” “ProVia’s announcement is the successful culmination of two months of hard work,” said Brian Wilson, president of the Noxubee County Economic Development Alliance. “They were by far the best-case scenario for us out of the many potential buyers for the facility. ... ProVia has a strong reputation for leadership in their industry for the last 30 years and we welcome them with open arms to Noxubee County.”

Harper on Judiciary, House Administration Coms

WTOK reporting

Cong. Gregg Harper has been appointed to the House Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on House Administration for the 111th Congress. “As the Republican representative on the Steering Committee, I worked hard to get the other freshman Republicans the best committee assignments possible,” said Harper. “I am very thankful for their cooperation and am pleased with the placement I have received from the Committee as well.”