Connecticut

National Health Reform Implementation: In addition to expanding coverage through Medicaid, national health reform is expected to provide more than 17 million people with subsidies to purchase coverage through Exchanges. However, some people might still not be able to afford insurance. What measures, if any, would you support to help make health insurance affordable for families?

Among other critical investments in our health care safety net, I support rapid and thorough dissemination of the $11 billion in investments that the health reform law made in our community health centers, which in Connecticut are truly on the front lines of providing care to those who can least afford it. We also must scale up the provisions which force insurers to justify massive premium hikes, the single largest threat to those currently insured.

Childhood Obesity: More than one in six U.S children are obese, a rate that has tripled in the past 30 years. Childhood obesity is linked to a number of debilitating and expensive diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, several kinds of cancer, and other chronic conditions. What can be done, if anything, to help families and communities address this issue?

I proudly support reauthorization of our child nutrition statute, which would invest $8 billion in school lunches and breakfasts and give the Agriculture Department new power to set nutrition standards for school vending machines and a la carte lines. I also cosponsored House passage of the Fitness Integrated with Teaching (FIT) Kids Act of 2009 (H.R.1585/S.634), which would increase physical activity for children at school and ensure that children learn how to live healthier lives.

Children’s Budget: Representative Danny Davis and Senator Menendez have introduced the Children’s Budget Act (H.R. 3772/S. 3108), legislation that would require federal spending on children’s programs to be separately displayed and analyzed in the President’s budget, illustrating how the federal government allocates resources for children. What importance, if any, do you place on creating a Children’s Budget and why?

I have not yet had the opportunity to study this legislation in detail, but in principle am in favor in any legislation that highlights the needs of and investments in America’s children, especially those at greatest risk.

Dental: Tooth decay is the single most common chronic disease of childhood, affecting nearly 6 in 10 American children. Yet many children and families, particularly those served by Medicaid and CHIP, are unable to access appropriate oral health care. What measures, if any, should be taken to make dental care more accessible?

There’s no question that all children need regular dental care to prevent and treat dental problems. I agree wholeheartedly with CVC’s recommendation that every child in HUSKY A receive preventive dental care services twice a year, beginning with an initial screening at 2 years of age. The federal government needs to partner with Connecticut to provide resources – through the community health center system and elsewhere – to help our community providers meet these targets.

Medicaid: Medicaid provides health coverage to over 42 million individuals—many of whom are children. Millions more will qualify for the program in 2014 as a result of the new health reform law. What role do you see Medicaid playing in a reformed U.S. health system and what importance, if any, do you place on the continuation and growth of this program?

Medicaid and Medicare are not only critical elements of the health safety net made available to poor and elderly Americans, but with 20 cents of every federal dollar spent on these two programs, an enormous challenge to our budget. We can strengthen programs by scaling up the delivery system reforms – including value-based purchasing, accountable care organizations, and patient-centered medical homes – that help us shift away from a quantity-based, ‘fee-for-service’ model to a quality-based, patient-centered approach.

Early Education: Research shows that attendance at a preschool is a critical factor in improving children’s readiness to enter kindergarten and promoting their long-term development and success. What, if anything, can or should be done to help states offer more high quality early education opportunities for children?

I was proud to put early education at the center of my legislative agenda, introducing the Early Learning Innovation Act (H.R. 3973) and Early Learning Alignment Act (H.R. 6302), bills aimed at expanding access to high-quality early learning programs to high-need families and safeguarding those gains into the elementary levels. I will put the strengthening of resources for early learning at the center of the ESEA reauthorization debate in the next Congress

Poverty: Over 18% of all children live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level. What, if anything, would you do to reduce poverty among children?

There is no “silver bullet” to reduce poverty, but our advocates and service providers have proof of what works. We need to build on the success of economic self-sufficiency tools like the EITC and Individual Development Accounts, expand incremental Section 8 vouchers to help families access affordable housing, and achieve radical reform in high-need schools to give children a path out of the intergenerational poverty cycle all too prevalent in our cities today.