BIOGRAPHY
Serving his sixth term in Congress, Jim McGovern is Vice-Chairman of the House Rules Committee, sits on the House Budget Committee, is the founding Co-Chair of the House Hunger Caucus, and in May 2008 the Speaker of the House appointed him the Democratic Co-Chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.
Q1: While the U.S. has made improvements in the number of children who have health insurance, many children remain uninsured. In addition, federal funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) will expire unless the program is reauthorized by March 2009. What priority do you place on SCHIP reauthorization? What can be done, if anything, to increase the number of children who have access to health insurance?
Reauthorization of SCHIP is and has always been one of my top priorities. Given the financial pressures facing many low-income families today, I believe we need to expand the income criteria to include more families with children. I also believe federal and state governments need to do aggressive outreach to ensure all eligible children have health care insurance and access to quality care.
Q2: While the federal government has supported many initiatives to improve health care quality, these efforts often focus on adults and Medicare recipients. What steps, if any, would you support to enhance the quality of children's health care?
Carry out a national assessment on the quality of pediatric care, in collaboration with state and local governments. Strengthen national reporting requirements on pediatric care for all health care providers. Fund professional education, training and development on delivery of quality pediatric care. Support greater access to specialists, testing and treatment for families of modest means. Finally, approve and expand SCHIP as children with insurance receive better quality care than the uninsured.
Q3: Senator Menendez introduced S. 3277, the "Children's Budget Act," which would add a requirement to future federal budgets to list the different sources of federal funding for children's programs, thereby illustrating how the federal government prioritizes and allocates resources affecting children. What importance, if any, do you place on creating a Children's Budget and why?
I support a "children's budget" and appreciate the grassroots advocacy that has begun in support of such a proposal.
Q4: Health care reform may be a big topic for Congressional debate in 2009. What initiatives, if any, would you proactively support? How do you see children's healthcare fitting into this larger debate?
SCHIP will be a key part of any health care reform debate, but if the U.S. begins to move toward greater universality or access to care, the special needs and requirements of pediatric and family care must receive a higher priority in that debate, ranging from FDA testing and guidelines on use of medications for pediatric (and not just adult) care to immunizations to preventive health care to R&D, etc.
Q5: The Federal Poverty Measure has remained virtually unchanged since it was first created in the 1960s, leading to various proposals to modify it. What changes, if any, would you make to the current method of determining how many Americans lives in poverty and why?
In my work on hunger, I've argued for updating how the federal government measures and determines poverty. Basic costs and economic pressures on families are very different than during the 1960s, including transportation, housing, energy, food, childcare, health care, etc. I will continue to press the GAO, USDA, HHS and Congress to update and upgrade these models so they more accurately reflect the difficulties of making ends meet in today's economy.
Q6: The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 is set to expire on September 30, 2009. This legislation includes a range of programs—such as the school breakfast and lunch programs, the summer food service program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Which programs supported by the legislation, if any, would you support? What can be done, if anything, through this legislation or other vehicles to help children, families, and communities address the growing childhood obesity crisis?
As Co-Chair of the House Hunger Caucus, I have been focusing attention on this upcoming reauthorization and building a consensus around the importance of all the programs under this Act. I have been most engaged on WIC, school breakfast and lunch programs, and the summer food services programs. On obesity, we need to provide and ensure access to nutritious foods, especially for poor and low-income families, and increase all children's physical activity.
Q7: Child poverty has been shown to have an effect on children's health, education, and development. What do you think should be done by the federal government to reduce poverty among children in Massachusetts and throughout New England?
I work closely with Governor Patrick to expand access to basic safety net programs like food stamps, Medicaid, health care and other services for poor and lower-income families. In central Massachusetts, I'm working with city and non-profit groups to establish "hunger-free communities." Finally, every day I work to increase affordable housing and health care, and create jobs with decent wages and benefits so that families can move out of poverty.
Q8: The increasing incidence of chronic diseases in children (i.e. asthma, diabetes, mental health) presents major challenges to our health care system. How would you work to prevent disease and ensure children have access to the health services they need?
Make sure all children are insured. Studies show children with insurance receive better quality care than those without; this is especially true for children with chronic diseases like asthma and diabetes. Increase healthcare worker training in identification, testing, early diagnosis and treatment of pediatric chronic diseases. Combat root causes that contribute to pediatric chronic illness, such as poor air quality, the cost and lack of access to nutritious foods, decreased physical activity, etc.
