By Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO)

Over the last seven years, a crisis has been brewing in our healthcare system. The numbers are daunting — 47 million Americans, including 9 million children, live without access to quality healthcare. This crisis grows as families struggle with skyrocketing insurance costs and a stumbling economy. Something clearly must be done. But, the Bush administration has ignored this deteriorating situation and has even made it worse.

Time after time, when the administration has had the opportunity to expand access to healthcare — it blocks access instead. From a stalled State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), to draconian Medicaid regulations, to an anemic budget for scientific research, the Bush administration continues to make it difficult for states to provide healthcare. The administration’s inaction is a missed opportunity.

One of the first programs I worked on when I came to Congress was SCHIP. This wildly successful partnership between the states and federal government was created with bipartisan support under a Democratic president and a Republican-controlled Congress. We worked across the aisle to give states the resources necessary to develop state-based solutions to healthcare.

Earlier this year, we watched in amazement as President Bush put politics over the expansion of children’s healthcare by vetoing two bipartisan compromise bills that would have provided healthcare for nearly 10 million low-income children. This reauthorization package would have allowed almost 4 million additional eligible, but unenrolled, children into SCHIP. But the president missed this opportunity and turned his back on kids.

This tussle over kids’ health insurance was coupled with an attack on America’s indigent by the administration’s ill-conceived cuts to Medicaid by thoughtless alteration of the rules. These regulations cut hospital budgets — our nation’s primary source of care for America’s poor — threatening the viability of our entire healthcare safety net. Hospitals across the country are outraged — they face the real possibility of closing their doors to people in need. A recent congressional study even highlighted the stark contrast between the administration’s original projections and the expected impact of the regulations on states. The administration is using a meat cleaver when it should use a scalpel to address the ballooning cost of healthcare — another missed opportunity.

Fresh off the SCHIP battle and Medicaid disaster, the administration poured on more by proposing a 2009 budget that vastly underfunds vital research and prevention programs. At a time when the U.S. faces critical public health needs, ranging from bioterrorism preparedness to chronic disease prevention, the president’s budget request would slash funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by 6 percent and jeopardizes 80 percent of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant programs — potentially delaying promising research causing the U.S. to lose its competitive edge.

Our research program has been undernourished for years — in fact, the NIH budget has remained flat for the past five years. Increased NIH funding would lead to robust research, producing cost-effective medicines and techniques. The New York Times agrees, opining that “an aging population and a too-costly healthcare system would benefit from better and cheaper treatment.” A strong research program is critical to repairing our tattered healthcare system. The president’s lack of investment in innovative research is yet another missed opportunity.

The new leadership of Congress recognizes the crisis in healthcare and is working to expand the system for every American. As the vice chairwoman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, I am working with the Democratic leadership to make this a reality. The goal is to turn the administration’s missteps into opportunities to improve our healthcare system.

While the president vetoed the children’s health bill twice, we were able to salvage healthcare for those low-income children already in the program. We passed an extension of the program preserving health care for over 6 million children nationwide — and we are committed to finding ways to cover the millions of children already eligible for the program.

As the proposed changes to Medicaid put our safety net at risk, Congress is working quickly to halt these regulations. The Committee on Energy and Commerce is working to bring bipartisan legislation to the floor of the House that places a one-year moratorium on these rules. This will allow us time to work together on a comprehensive fix — or until we have a new administration willing to make healthcare a priority.

While the president’s 2009 budget starves research and prevention, the Democratic budget invests in public health programs at both the CDC and NIH. Our budget increases funding for public health by $4.5 billion over the 2008 level — a full $3.1 billion above the president’s request.

We can all agree the time to address the healthcare crisis in America has come. The Democratic Congress is working hard on solutions and won’t stop until we get the job done.