The Do-Nothing Congress Daily Register: GOP Ignores Rising Number of Uninsured

The Republican-led Congress is set to go home in five business days, leaving a number of important legislative priorities undone and a host of issues unresolved. After 12 years of Republican Congressional rule, the GOP puts politics ahead of what's good for America and are ineffective at dealing with the problems that American families face. It is no wonder that Americans are fed up with Republican leadership in Congress and now favor Democratic control. The latest CBS News/New York Times poll found that two-thirds of Americans "said Congress had accomplished less than it typically does in a two-year session; most said they could not name a single major piece of legislation that cleared this Congress. Just 25 percent said they approved of the way Congress was doing its job." [New York Times, 9/21/06]

The Democratic National Committee will highlight these legislative failures every day until Congress recesses.

Over the last five years, with Republican control of the White House and Congress, the numbers of the uninsured have swelled. With only a few days remaining in this legislative session, the nearly 46 million uninsured Americans are still waiting for help from the Republican-controlled Congress.

Nearly 47 Million Americans Are Uninsured - Increasing for the Fifth Year in a Row. The number of Americans lacking health insurance increased by 1.3 million last year -- and by 6.8 million since Bush took office in 2001. Today, a total of 46.6 million people are uninsured -- roughly one in seven Americans. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/29/06; Table HI-4]

• The Number of Uninsured Is Equal to the Combined Populations of 24 States and the District of Columbia. In order to provide some perspective on the sheer magnitude of the problem of the uninsured, the number of Americans who are denied health insurance is equal to the combined populations of 24 states and the District of Columbia. The states include: Oregon, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Iowa, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kansas, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, West Virginia, Nebraska, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. [Census Bureau Population Estimates, Table GCT-T1-R]

The Number of Uninsured Children Increased By 361,000 Over the Past Year; Rate of Uninsured Children Rose for First Time in Five Years. The number of children without health insurance increased to 8.3 million this year - a 361,000 increase over the past year. Over 21.9 percent of Hispanic children and 12.5 percent of African American children lack health insurance. [U.S. Census Bureau, 8/29/06]