We've been blogging off-and-on for a year about Hillary Clinton's exagerrated claim (dating back to her first Senate race here) to have "championed" and "helped create" the popular Children's Health Insurance Program that was actually passed into law in 1997 -- when she wasn't even in Congress.
Now, the Boston Globe takes a longer look at the issue, finding that the program was created by Ted Kennedy and co-sponsored by Orrin Hatch -- with no known input from Clinton. In fact, the Clinton White House opposed it for budgetary reasons when it was first proposed, then later supported it.
Kennedy, an Obama supporter, has previously pointed out the contradiction. The Globe also quotes Hatch: "The White House wasn't for it. We really roughed them up... She may have done some advocacy [privately] over at the White House, but I'm not aware of it."
They also quote John McDonough, a Mass. legislator and healthcare advocate who worked on the legislation with Kennedy and has not endorsed Obama or Clinton: " 'I don't recall any signs of Mrs. Clinton's engagement,' McDonough said. 'I'm sure she was behind the scenes, engaged in lobbying, but it is demonstrably not the case' that she was driving the effort, he said."
Comments (2)
Original quote source is the Associated Press.
Note that Ted Kennedy is quoted as giving Hillary credit before he became and Obama supporter.
Minniappolis-St. Paul --- Star Tribune
October 5, 2007
Can Hillary Clinton claim credit for children's health program?
The claim: Hillary Rodham Clinton claims significant credit for helping launch a multibillion- dollar health insurance program for children. Is she justified?
The fact check: After her universal health insurance effort was defeated in 1994, she began looking for other changes. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and the Clintons explored expanding health insurance coverage to children who had none. President Bill Clinton announced a plan to expand coverage to as many as 5 million children in his 1997 State of the Union address. Kennedy, meanwhile, introduced legislation.
But Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, a Republican, said the plan violated the balanced budget deal, prompting the president to call lawmakers to kill the bill. But Hillary Clinton said he would find ways to provide the insurance. The effort was revived, and Bill Clinton signed the bill in 1997.
Bottom line: While Kennedy is viewed as the driving force behind the program, the former First Lady's pressure was seen as crucial. Kennedy said, "The children's health program wouldn't be in existence today if we didn't have Hillary pushing for it."
"She wasn't a legislator ... and she wasn't the president," said Nick Littlefield, an ex-Kennedy aide. "But we relied on her, worked with her and she was pivotal in encouraging the White House to do it."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NOW, MORE THAN EVER, YOU NEED TO KNOW THE FACTS ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON:
What is her program. What would she do as President?
How did she avoid indictment for her past scandals?
What did her brothers get in return for Bill’s pardons?
What did she really do to make $100,000 in the futures market?
How did she use campaign finance fraud to win election to the Senate?
What has she really done as Senator?