Bush veto of child health bill sustained

Democrats unable to save popular, bipartisan bill

WASHINGTON. House Democrats were unable yesterday to override President Bush’s veto of their preelection year effort to expand a popular government health insurance program to cover 10 million children.

The bill had bipartisan support, but the 273-156 roll call was 13 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to enact the bill into law over Bush’s objections. The bill had passed the Senate with a veto-proof margin.

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program now subsidizes health care coverage for about 6 million children at a cost of about $5 billion a year. The vetoed bill would have added 4 million more children, most of them from low-income families, to the program at an added cost of $7 billion annually.

To pay for the increase, the bill would have raised the federal tax on cigarettes from 39 cents to $1.00 a pack.

“This is not about an issue. It’s about a value,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said just before the vote. “For the cost of less than 40 days in Iraq, we can provide SCHIP coverage for 10 million children for one year.”

“We won this round on SCHIP,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said after the vote.
Republican opponents said the bill would encourage too many middle-income families to
substitute government-subsidized insurance for their private insurance.

Proponents emphasized that the program would focus on families with annual incomes that are
below $41,300 for a family of four.

Skapad av admin

Tid det tar att läsa: 3.6 min