Late last week the federal government awarded $40 million in grants to find hard-to-reach, uninsured children and help enroll them in CHIP coverage. Two of the successful applicants are in Washington and will receive nearly $450,000 over the next two years.

We're going to keep saying it: Children must come out of federal health care reform better off, not worse.

Now we're happy to report some progress in the Senate. Yestereday the Senate Finance Committee approved an amendment from Senator Jay Rockefeller that preserves the Children's Health Insurance Program, a highly successful federal-state partnership that is a cornerstone of our Apple Health for Kids program here in Washington.