Battle Over Kids' Health Bill Continues

Democratic Leaders Gathering Votes To Override Veto On SCHIP Funding

(AP)  House Democratic leaders said Sunday they were working to gather votes to override a veto on a popular children's health program, but pledged to find a way to cover millions without insurance should their effort fail.

At the same time, the White House sought to chide the Democratic-controlled Congress as the obstructionists in reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program. It said Democrats were the ones who had shown unwillingness to compromise.

Deputy press secretary Tony Fratto quoted President Bush as saying he is "willing to work with members of both parties from both houses" on the issue.

In talk show interviews, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer did not dispute claims by Republican leaders that the GOP will have enough votes to sustain Bush's veto when the House holds its override vote on Thursday.

Pelosi and Hoyer promised to pass another bipartisan bill if needed.

"Isn't that sad for America's children?" said Pelosi, D-Calif., when asked about the GOP's assurances the override vote will fail. "It doesn't mean we aren't working hard throughout the country: governors, mayors, people who deal with children on a regular basis.

"We'll try very hard to override it. But one thing's for sure: We won't rest until those 10 million children have health care," she said in an interview broadcast Sunday.

Hoyer, D-Md., declined to predict Thursday's vote.

"This is a defining moment for the Republican Party, in my opinion," Hoyer said, before adding later: The program is "not going to die. We're going to go back and we're going to pass another bill."

House Democrats scheduled the vote after Bush earlier this month vetoed legislation that would increase spending for the SCHIP by $35 billion over five years. Bush has called for a $5 billion increase.

An override requires a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate. The Senate approved the increase by a veto-proof margin, but the earlier House vote fell about two dozen votes short.

The program provides health insurance to children in families with incomes too great for Medicaid eligibility but not enough to afford private insurance. Bush has said the bill is too costly. The president now says he might be willing to provide more than $5 billion originally offered but that the current proposal shifts too much insurance burden onto the government rather than private providers.

On Sunday, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he hopes that Democrats will agree to negotiate once the veto is sustained so that the children's insurance program can be reauthorized.

"We will have the votes to sustain the president's veto," Boehner said. "And I think the differences are resolvable, but we're standing on our principle that poor kids ought to come first."

"Most people don't want government-run health insurance," he added. "Republicans are working on a plan that will provide access to all Americans to high-quality health insurance, make sure that we increase the quality of health insurance that we have in America."

Last week, Pelosi said Democrats were making some progress and hoped to "peel off about 14 votes" to override the veto. Republicans such as Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa and Orrin Hatch of Utah, who sided with Democrats on the vetoed bill, also were working to sway wavering House GOP lawmakers.

On Sunday, Pelosi did not comment on the predicted vote tally.

"We'll take one step at a time. And, again, we'll maintain our bipartisanship and our fiscal soundness," she said. "And we'll talk to the president at the right time, when he makes an overture to do so, but not an overture that says, 'This is the only thing I'm going to sign."'

Fratto said it was untrue that Bush had never sought compromise in the vetoed legislation, contending that Democrats had shut out administration officials in the original negotiations. House Democrats have countered that they had already compromised enough because they wanted $50 billion for the program but dropped it down to $35 billion to appease Senate Republicans.

"It is encouraging that Speaker Pelosi has expressed a willingness to find common ground," Fratto said Sunday.

Pelosi spoke on ABC's "This Week," and Hoyer and Boehner appeared on "Fox News Sunday."

[sgtrds]

I cannot understand how people can be against our children receiving healthcare.

Posted by Changeizcmon at 12:13 AM : Oct 16, 2007

Simple. He does not care. Not even a little.

[changeizcmon]

I cannot understand how people can be against our children receiving healthcare. It''s tough out there for families. The cost of everything from food to electric has risen much over the years, but wages have not. Yet, I believe we have the money without having to increase taxes to provide this coverage. The government just needs to quit squandering away what tax money they already have. Example: the millions of dollars that the senator from Alaska obtained for his state, so they can do research on how to make Salmon babyfood??? Sounds like a hot item that will make money??? Check out the news story in the Feb 07 Readers Digest regarding the wasteful spending of the Pentagon and other government agencies. All that money could have paid for quite a few children to be covered. Just think how many kids could have coverage, if we had could use the money (contributions) that the candidates received!!!

[kansas1946]

Yes, Bush is evil, of that I have no doubt.

[kansas1946]

At the same time, the White House sought to chide the Democratic-controlled Congress as the obstructionists in reauthorizing the State Children''s Health Insurance Program. It said Democrats were the ones who had shown unwillingness to compromise.
***********************************************

Oh, yes, this is all the Democrats fault. A bi-partisan bill passes the senate with a large majority of support from both sides of the isle, Republicans are furious he vetoed it, but of course, Bush is well versed in "Rove Speak."

Just lie, lie, lie, and blame anything on the Democrats. He is pitiful, ignorant, short sighted, but now, almost everyone, including most Republicans, know it.

[sgtrds]

Bush is not evil or rather not any more evil then any other elitist pig who was raised to believe that everyone else is "beneath" him. Yes I have read the bill. I know that it provides more money to expand the program to cover more poor children and that it pays for itself through an increase in tobacco taxes. However the idiot in the White House objects to it because it has that terrible word taxes in it (which he only likes when he''s slashing them for the rich), that it covers more poor kids (who he doesn''t give a sh*it about in the first place), because it goes after his fellow elitist pig buddies in Big Tobacco and because he thinks it''ll lead to socialised medicine, which of course it will and that''s great! Free comprehensive heath care is a human right, right up there with free speech and freedom of religion. So is Bush evil? I suppose not. he''s just a jerk and a rich as*shole.

[katg21]

Bush doesn''''t care about poor kids. He doesn''''t care about middle-class kids either...Posted by SgtRDS

OH Dear Lord, what a whining idiot!!! Yeah, Bush doesn''t care about our children, he''s evil!!! Did you read the bill, moron? Obviously not.

[sgtrds]

Bush doesn''t care about poor kids. He doesn''t care about middle-class kids either. He is an elitist pig, raised by the ice hearted elitist pig Barbara and doesn''t give a da*mn about anyone or anything outside of his "class" of people and never did. It''s why he has no problem vetoing children''s health care, because all of the children of his "class" can afford it. It''s also why he has no problem sending other peoples kids off to die in a war he started (when he was too much of a yellow-bellied gutless coward to go to Vietnam), because none of the members of his "class" are fighting in it. To Bush and scum like him the only real people are people he knows and everyone else are sub-humans to be walked upon.

[gunnerv1]

$80,000.00 plus income and being 25 is a disqualfier and not a "Child", VOTE NO on this!

[mudrose-2009]

Instead of coming up with a huge expansion of a program meant for the poor. Why don''''t we analyze why it is that middle class can''''t pay for their own stuff anymore. If we were making upwards of 80K, paying for a health insurance premium wouldn''''t be a big deal. The middle class income is contracting and that''''s what we need to address.
Posted by standlee5

How refreshing to hear a voice of reason. Dimnowits, always making a mountain out of a moehill.

[adventurepa]

"the White House sought to chide the Democratic-controlled Congress as the obstructionists.
It said Democrats were the ones who had shown unwillingness to compromise.
Democrats wanted $50 billion for the program but dropped it down to $35 billion to appease Senate Republicans."

Just more proven spin by the bush administration.
They should not be trusted nor should the republicans running for president.

When are the Democrats going to start putting this stuff on TV in ads against the GOP and Republicans?