Senate OKs Children's Health Care Bill
29 09 07 - 13:56
President Bush Pledges to Veto
By Todd Zwillich
WebMD Medical NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDSept. 27, 2007 -- The Senate approved a large expansion to children’s health insurance programs Thursday night, clearing the way for the bill to be sent to President Bush, who has promised a veto.
The bill got the support of 69 senators, more than enough to override a veto. But the 265 votes the bill received in the House earlier this week is 25 votes short of the number required for an override there.
Lawmakers praised the bill as a model of bipartisan compromise on normally contentious health care issues.
The package was the product of months of negotiations between senior Democrats and Republicans, and in the end wound up with broad bipartisan support. Members of both parties urged Bush to reconsider his pledge to veto the bill, which would provide health coverage to about 4 million uninsured kids through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
“Democrats and Republicans put politics aside to put children first and I urge the president to do the same,” said Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), one of the bill’s key conservative supporters, said, “The bill we voted on today is a good compromise that addresses viewpoints from both sides of the aisle in the Senate, and between the House and the Senate. I urge the president to let it stand, so we can help 4 million more of our nation’s children.”
About 6 million U.S. children get coverage through SCHIP. An estimated 9 million more have no insurance, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Veto Threat
But soon after the bill passed, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino issued a release reiterating the president’s pledge to veto the bill. Bush has criticized the agreement because it allows states in some cases to extend taxpayer-funded coverage to the children of middle-income families.
“The president will veto this bill because it directs scarce funding to higher incomes at the expense of poor families,” the White House release stated.
The bill increases federal SCHIP spending by $35 billion over five years. To pay for the expansion, lawmakers agreed to increase federal cigarette taxes by $.61 per pack.
Public health groups hailed the bill for widening access to children’s coverage while potentially making cigarettes less accessible.
Democratic leaders are pledging to try to override a presidential veto. But it was unclear how they would convince enough lawmakers to switch their votes on the SCHIP bill.
“We’re close,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
If Congress fails to override a veto, lawmakers must return to the negotiating table. This week, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Democrats would return to the bill “again, and again, and again” until Bush agreed to sign it.
The current SCHIP program expires on Sunday. Congress on Thursday also approved a temporary measure to keep the current program operating through mid-November.