Obama faults Republicans for uninsured

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama took aim Tuesday at Republicans over the number of uninsured Americans.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday that last year 45.7 million people, or 15.3 percent of the population, were uninsured, The Hill reported.

Although the figure represents a decline in the number of uninsured Americans, Obama seized on the numbers to attack Republicans and the GOP presidential hopeful, Arizona Sen. John McCain.

"Today's news confirms what America's struggling families already know -- that over the past seven years our economy has moved backwards," said Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, in a statement.

The U.S. poverty rate remained nearly unchanged last year, at 12.5 percent.

"Another 816,000 Americans fell into poverty in 2007 -- including nearly 500,000 children -- bringing the total increase in Americans in poverty under President Bush to 5.7 million," Obama said.

"And on Bush's watch, an additional 7.2 million Americans have fallen into the ranks of the uninsured. This is the failed record of George Bush's economic policies that Sen. McCain has called 'great progress,'" Obama added.