By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Saturday, September 22, 2007
WASHINGTON -- President Bush again called Democrats "irresponsible" on Saturday for pushing an expansion he opposes to a children's health insurance program.
"Democrats in Congress have decided to pass a bill they know will be vetoed," Bush said of the measure that draws significant bipartisan support, repeating in his weekly radio address an accusation he made earlier in the week. "Members of Congress are risking health coverage for poor children purely to make a political point."
In the Democrat's response, also broadcast Saturday, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell turned the tables on the president, saying that if Bush doesn't sign the bill, 15 states will have no funding left for the program by the end of the month.
At issue is the Children's Health Insurance Program, a state-federal program that subsidizes health coverage for low-income people, mostly children, in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private coverage. It expires Sept. 30.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers announced a proposal Friday that would add $35 billion over five years to the program, adding 4 million people to the 6.6 million already participating. It would be financed by raising the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents to $1 per pack.
The idea is overwhelmingly supported by Congress' majority Democrats, who scheduled it for a vote Tuesday in the House. It has substantial Republican support as well.
But Bush has promised a veto, saying the measure is too costly, unacceptably raises taxes, extends government-covered insurance to children in families who can afford private coverage, and smacks of a move toward completely federalized health care. He has asked Congress to pass a simple extension of the current program while debate continues, saying it's children who will suffer if they do not.
"Our goal should be to move children who have no health insurance to private coverage -- not to move children who already have private health insurance to government coverage," Bush said.
The bill's backers have vigorously rejected Bush's claim it would steer public money to families that can readily afford health insurance, saying their goal is to cover more of the millions of uninsured children. The bill would provide financial incentives for states to cover their lowest-income children first, they said.
Many governors want the flexibility to expand eligibility for the program. So the proposal would overturn recent guidelines from the administration making it difficult for states to steer CHIP funds to families with incomes exceeding 250 percent of the official poverty level.
Rendell said thousands of children will lose health care coverage if Bush doesn't sign the bill.
"The administration has tried to turn this into a partisan issue and has threatened to veto. The health of our children is far too important for partisan politics as usual," he said. "If the administration is serious about solving our health care crisis, it should be expanding, not cutting back, this program which has made private health insurance affordable for millions of children."
By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Tuesday, September 25, 2007
WASHINGTON -- The House voted Tuesday to expand health insurance for children, but the Democratic-led victory may prove short-lived because the margin was too small to override President Bush's promised veto.
Embarking on a health care debate likely to animate the 2008 elections, the House voted 265-159 to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, by $35 billion over five years. Bush says he will veto the bill due to its cost, its reliance on a tobacco tax increase and its potential for replacing private insurance with government grants.
SCHIP is a state-federal program that provides coverage for 6.6 million children from families that live above the poverty level but have trouble affording private health insurance. The proposed expansion, backed by most governors and many health-advocacy groups, would add 4 million children to the rolls.
The bill drew support from 45 House Republicans, many of them moderates who do not want to be depicted as indifferent to low-income children's health needs when they seek re-election next year. But 151 Republicans sided with Bush, a move that Democrats see as a political blunder.
It hardly matters that the expansion would be expensive or a step toward socialized health care, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said during the House debate. When lawmakers go home, he said, "the question is, Were you with the kids or were you not?"
To overturn a presidential veto, both chambers of Congress must produce two-thirds majorities. The 265 yes votes in the House are two dozen fewer than Democrats would need to override Bush's veto, and House leaders expect few members to switch positions.
The Senate appears poised to pass the SCHIP expansion by a large margin later this week, but a Senate bid to override a veto would be pointless if the House override effort falls short.
Despite the expected veto, many congressional Democrats welcomed the SCHIP debate as a way to open a second political front -- in addition to Iraq -- on which they feel Bush and his allies are out of step with voters. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., said the president willingly pours billions of dollars into the war but resists a significant expansion of a health program for modest-income children.
"It's no surprise the president finds himself isolated," Emanuel said at a Democratic event that included a Maryland mother who relied on SCHIP coverage when two of her children were badly injured in a car wreck.
Some Republicans agreed that the debate over a greater government role in health care will resonate far beyond Capitol Hill this week.
"This vote is huge for the next president, regardless of who it is," Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., said in an interview during the floor debate. "I don't think anybody underestimates the philosophical importance."
Eight Democrats opposed the bill. Some, from tobacco-growing districts, object to raising the federal cigarette tax to $1 a pack, a 61-cent increase. Some Hispanic members complained that the bill would make legal immigrant children wait five years to qualify for SCHIP, but voted for it anyway.
A Republican-controlled Congress and President Clinton created SCHIP in 1997 to provide health coverage for families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but not high enough to pay for private coverage. Under the expansion proposal, states could seek federal waivers to steer funds to some families earning at least triple the official poverty-level income, provided the states showed progress enrolling the main target: children in families earning up to double the poverty rate. That would be $34,340 for a family of three, or $41,300 for a family of four. The Bush administration says the legislation could qualify some New York families of four making about $83,000 a year, or four times the poverty level. Such a scenario is unlikely, the bill's proponents say, because it would require waivers the administration has rejected.
Bush proposes a smaller increase in SCHIP -- $5 billion over five years -- although some Republican lawmakers say he might agree to a larger increase later.
In a statement of administration policy Tuesday, the White House said the bill "goes too far toward federalizing health care." Republicans said a veto was certain. In his nearly seven years in office, Bush has vetoed three bills. One would have withdrawn troops from Iraq, and two would have expanded federal research involving embryonic stem cells.
After the vote, White House press secretary Dana Perino issued a statement saying: "Unfortunately, the House of Representatives today passed SCHIP legislation that pushes many children who now have private coverage into a government-run system, part of the Democrats' incremental plan toward government-run health care for all Americans."
SCHIP is set to expire Sunday. To avert that, congressional Democrats plan to extend it temporarily with a larger spending bill to keep the government running when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The strategy would prevent Democrats from being blamed for letting the health program lapse by not reaching an accord with Bush, lawmakers said.
House Republican leaders berated Democrats for including several targeted spending items, known as "earmarks," in the 299-page SCHIP bill, which was not available for public review until Monday night. Democrats had declared the bill earmark-free. But Republicans found language directing funds to programs in Tennessee, California and Michigan.
After the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she was disappointed that Bush "has issued a veto threat against a bill that has so much bipartisan, indeed nonpartisan, support."
House votes to expand health insurance for children The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The House voted Tuesday to expand health insurance for children, but the Democratic-led victory may prove shortlived because the margin was too small to override President Bush’s promised veto. Embarking on a health care debate likely to animate the 2008 elections, the House voted 265-159 to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, by $35 billion over five years. Bush says he will veto the bill due to its cost, its reliance on a tobacco tax increase and its potential for replacing private insurance with government grants. SCHIP is a state-federal program that provides coverage for 6.6 million children from families that live above the poverty level but have trouble affording private health insurance. The proposed expansion, backed by most governors and many health-advocacy groups, would add 4 million children to the rolls. The bill drew support from 45 House Republicans, many of them moderates who do not want to be depicted as indifferent to low-income children’s health needs when they seek re-election next year. But most Republicans, under pressure from the White House and party leaders, sided with Bush, a move that Democrats see as a political blunder.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers announced a proposal Friday that would add $35 billion over five years to the program, adding 4 million people to the 6.6 million already participating. It would be financed by raising the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents to $1 per pack.
Okay, so here is that stupid 'raise the cigarette tax' to fund a government program when, in fact, the government is pushing toward a 'smoke free' country. Where do these stupid people, with these stupid ideas come from anyways?
Quoted Text
"Our goal should be to move children who have no health insurance to private coverage -- not to move children who already have private health insurance to government coverage," Bush said
.I agree!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Do you realize that Mr. Spitzer is not happy with the latest round regarding the State Childs Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)? It seems that the state of New York will not get any funding for this, as they have not yet got the appropriate percentage of currently eligible children enrolled, therefore making New York State residents ineligible on the most recent level of care. To further this, as the health care plan progresses, this means that New York State residents will be paying more to help children all over the country, while we will be recieving no additional money. Is there some way that you can think of to have this rectified? I would appreciate if you would reply via e-mail as this would be the quickest way for me to receive and the cheapest for all involved. Thanks, Kevin
And this is what happens when we let the government control our health care or anyother factors in our life. We are all scrambling for our taxpayers dollar. I believe that Cicero made a comment on another post that this is called 'socializm'. Doling out the people's money back to the people the way THEY see fit. And the people just keep asking for more and more and more government programs to support them.
Hit me over the head for this one if you want, but if your kid needs health insurance than get a friggin' job that offers it. How the hell do they think the rest of us slugs do it? We do like the government SHOULD. We cut spending!
In stead of the government taking over health care, set some guidlines in place for the private sector. And just remember folks that this entire health care crisis was started back in 1993 when Ms.Hillary was going to do the overhaul in health care. Well 14 years later she has succeeded. I may not approve of everything Pres. Bush does, and you can bash him anyway you like, but I absolutely commend him for vetoing this law.
And as far as NYS....Spitzer should be replaced! The big bad Steam Rolling, X-Attorney General has seemed to run out of steam. Our health care is in shambles in this state due to all of the loss of funding and increased responsibilities placed on the health care industry. The strain on health care is due to the government.
Walk into Albany Med's ER. Every bed is full. Half of the patients have health care and the other doesn't. And the government mandated these facilites to treat the uninsured the same as the insured. And at the same time, the government cuts funding to these facilities. So what the hell?
Okay...I'll get off my soap box now.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Froma Harrop Child health plan needs more fat to please Bush Froma Harrop is a nationally syndicated columnist.
Let’s design a children’s health plan that President George W. Bush might like. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program serves working families not poor enough to qualify for Medicare. Bush is dead set against legislation that would raise the number of children covered by SCHIP from 6 million to 9 million. In making a Bush-friendly plan, it’s important to ignore his stated reasons for opposing the SCHIP expansion. That would start with his protests over the costs. The $35 billion five-year price tag is a shadow of the projected spending on the Medicare prescription drug benefit, which Bush rammed through Congress in 2003. Medicare Part D will easily cost taxpayers $720 billion over 10 years. Bush was so intent on passing it in time for his re-election campaign that his henchmen threatened the Medicare actuary if he revealed the true numbers. Bush and his allies have expressed much outrage that the SCHIP bill would “subsidize” rich families — that is, it would let children in households earning up to three times the poverty level — about $64,000 for a family of four — participate in the program. Well, try to raise two children in New York City or San Francisco on $64,000, and also buy health coverage for them. Funny, but the Medicare drug benefi t (and Medicare in general) extends taxpayer-subsidized health care to retirees earning 2,000 times the poverty rate. Billionaires qualify if they’re over 65. And that was just dandy with the president. In a similar vein, one may question Bush’s repeated worry that access to a government program will prompt some working Americans to drop their private coverage. Yes, that happened when the Medicare drug benefit went into effect, but the president didn’t seem to lose sleep over it. Given Bush’s hearty support of the Medicare drug benefit, why won’t he get behind expanding SCHIP? Sen. Claire Mc-Caskill, D-Mo., offered this short, clean explanation at a National Conference of Editorial Writers meeting here in Kansas City: “The difference between the SCHIP program and Medicare Part D is the private businesses were cut into Medicare Part D.” Bingo. You see, the writers of the SCHIP legislation worked on the simple-minded idea that the taxpayers could help uninsured children by just picking up their medical bills. They didn’t understand the subtle thinking of the Bush administration, which can’t support a government program that doesn’t also enrich private interests. The Medicare drug law gave insurers and drug makers a big piece of the action. In return, they a) supported a giant new government program that Bush wanted and b) generously rewarded obliging lawmakers with money, campaign and otherwise. The Democrats writing the SCHIP legislation apparently forgot to hire their own Billy Tauzin to, so-to-speak, grease the wheels. Rep. Tauzin, the Louisiana Republican who wrote the Medicare drug law, did such a great job for the pharmaceuticals industry that its lobbying group immediately offered him a reported $3-million-a-year job — which he took. Had Bush and his Republican Congress followed the Democratic proposal — that is, simply let the federal government negotiate drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries — the program could cost $300 billion less over eight years. SCHIP is really small change next to the Medicare drug benefit, whose price was clearly no object for the president. So here’s what Democrats must do to get Bush’s blessings on children’s health coverage: They should spend 30 percent more on it than necessary to keep private businesses happy. And once they have the corporate lobbyists on board, all the complaints about socialized medicine, subsidizing the well-to-do and big government would vanish. That’s how health care is done in Bush’s Washington.
Bush vetoes child health insurance plan By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - President Bush, in a sharp confrontation with Congress, on Wednesday vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have dramatically expanded children's health insurance.
It was only the fourth veto of Bush's presidency, and one that some Republicans feared could carry steep risks for their party in next year's elections. The Senate approved the bill with enough votes to override the veto, but the margin in the House fell short of the required number.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., decried Bush's action as a "heartless veto."
"Never has it been clearer how detached President Bush is from the priorities of the American people," Reid said in a statement. "By vetoing a bipartisan bill to renew the successful Children's Health Insurance Program, President Bush is denying health care to millions of low-income kids in America. "
Bush cast his veto behind closed doors without any fanfare or news coverage.
The State Children's Health Insurance Program is a joint state-federal effort that subsidizes health coverage for 6.6 million people, mostly children, from families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford their own private coverage.
The Democrats who control Congress, with significant support from Republicans, passed the legislation to add $35 billion over five years to allow an additional 4 million children into the program. It would be funded by raising the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents to $1 per pack.
The president had promised to veto it, saying the Democratic bill was too costly, took the program too far from its original intent of helping the poor, and would entice people now covered in the private sector to switch to government coverage. He wants only a $5 billion increase in funding.
Bush argued that the congressional plan would be a move toward socialized medicine by expanding the program to higher-income families.
Democrats deny that, saying their goal is to cover more of the millions of uninsured children and noting that the bill provides financial incentives for states to cover their lowest-income children first. Of the over 43 million people nationwide who lack health insurance, 9 percent, or over 6 million, are under 18 years old.
Eighteen Republicans joined Democrats in the Senate, enough to override Bush's veto. But this was not the case in the House, where despite sizable Republican support, supporters of the bill are about two dozen votes short of a successful override.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Democrats were imploring 15 House Republicans to switch positions but had received no agreements so far.
House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said he was "absolutely confident" that the House would be able to sustain Bush's expected veto.
Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott, R-Miss., said Congress should be able to reach a compromise with Bush once he vetoes the bill. "We should not allow it to be expanded to higher and higher income levels, and to adults. This is about poor children," he said. "But we can work it out."
It took Bush six years to veto his first bill, when he blocked expanded federal research using embryonic stem cells last summer. In May, he vetoed a spending bill that would have required troop withdrawals from Iraq. In June, he vetoed another bill to ease restraints on federally funded stem cell research.
In the case of the health insurance program, the veto is a bit of a high-stakes gambit for Bush, pitting him against both the Democrats who have controlled both houses of Congress since January, but also many members of his own party and the public.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched radio ads Monday attacking eight GOP House members who voted against the bill and face potentially tough re-election campaigns next year.
And Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, said a coalition of liberal groups planned more than 200 events throughout the nation to highlight the issue.
Ms. Gillibrand has already destroyed a marraige, now she is out to help destroy our health care system.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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