For Immediate ReleaseOctober 11, 2000
Contact: Gillian Ray703-797-6027, [email protected]www.childrenshospitals.net
CANDIDATES' SURVEY HELPS VOTERS ASSESS WHO'S FOR KIDS AND WHO'S JUST KIDDING
Survey Highlights Positions of George W. Bush, Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Rick Lazio and Other Contenders in Key Races
Washington, DC -- The Coalition for America's Children, an alliance of 350 national, state, and local non-profit organizations dedicated to promoting children's issues led by the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI), has conducted a major survey of presidential candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore to assess where they stand on four key issues critical to children's well-being: health care, education, safety and economic security.
The ten-question presidential candidates' survey is part of Who's For Kids and Who's Just Kidding, a national, nonpartisan voter education campaign initiative, launched by the coalition nearly ten years ago. It is the only national survey on children's issues publicly available to which both presidential candidates have responded. The survey is available online at www.childrenshospitals.net (click on the "Campaign 2000" button). Candidate responses are complete and unedited and are not intended to reflect an endorsement for, or opposition to, any candidate or political party.
Lawrence McAndrews, president and chief executive officer of NACHRI said, "It is critical that voters in the national election know where the presidential candidates stand on children's health issues, from access to affordable health care to decreasing the number of injuries from firearms in our society. The candidates have taken stands on children's issues, and now parents and voters have the information they need to make informed choices about our children's future."
In addition to the presidential surveys, ten candidates in five competitive congressional races completed similar surveys fielded by children's hospitals and chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Like the presidential candidates, congressional candidates' responses were limited to 100 words for the first nine questions, and to 25 words for the final question. All responses are complete and unedited and are not intended to reflect an endorsement for, or opposition to, any candidate or political party.
The five congressional races include: Illinois House Race District 10 (Lauren Beth Gash-D and Mark Kirk-R); Missouri Senate Race (John Ashcroft-R and Mel Carnahan-D); New York Senate Race (Hillary Clinton-D and Rick Lazio-R); Pennsylvania Senate Race (Ron Klink-D and Rick Santorum-R); and Virginia Senate Race (George Allen-R and Chuck Robb-D).
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTSPresidential and congressional candidates addressed numerous children's issues in the survey, many of them controversial:
--Firearm injury prevention
--Uninsured children
--Child patient protections in managed care
--Safe and affordable child care
--Reduction of child povertySurvey responses illustrate where candidates are in agreement on issues or stand in stark contrast to one another.
In addition to the candidate surveys, NACHRI and the coalition released findings from a national poll of 832 registered voters, (also available at www.childrenshospitals.net), affirming that voters view children's issues as a top priority in the 2000 presidential elections. When asked to rank the importance of a candidate's stand on a series of issues, voters overwhelmingly chose issues critical to the nation's children:
--76 % rank education as the top priority;
--74 % rank children's issues such as health care closely behind education;
--90 % of voters think it is important for candidates to have a children's platform.
According to Marjorie Tharp, chair of the coalition and public affairs manager, AAP, "Clearly voters expect candidates for public office to have a vision for our children's future."
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The Coalition for America's Children is an alliance of 350 national, state, and local nonprofit organizations led by the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions and the American Academy of Pediatrics, working to call attention to the serious obstacles impeding children's well-being and to boost children's concerns to the top of the public policy agenda.
The National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions is a not-for-profit membership organization of children's hospitals, large pediatric units of medical centers and related health systems, including those that specialize in rehabilitative care. NACHRI's 161 members, associates and supporters, with collectively over 190 hospitals and clinics, work to ensure children's access to health care and the continuing ability of children's hospitals to provide services needed by children.
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