Statement of Governor Perdue Regarding Federal PeachCare Funds

ATLANTA- Governor Sonny Perdue issued the following statement following President George W. Bush’s signing of H.R. 2206, a federal funding bill that includes money for states experiencing shortfalls in their State Children’s Healthcare Insurance Program (S-CHIP), known as PeachCare here in Georgia:

"For over two years we have tried to raise awareness of the shortfall in federal funding that Georgia and 13 other states faced in the S-CHIP program. Our efforts have been to ensure that Georgia's more than 280,000 PeachCare children keep their healthcare coverage. I want to thank our state’s Congressional delegation for their hard work and partnership in this effort.

I am pleased that we now have certainty in federal funds for the next few months, however our work is not done. As Congress now considers the long-term reauthorization of the program, we need to address the program's flawed funding formula so that we do not face similar shortfalls in the future."