[NYTr] Bush Vetoes Child Health Plan

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

AP - Oct 3, 2007
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH_CHILDRENS_HEALTH?SITE=VOICESD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Bush Vetoes Child Health Plan

By JENNIFER LOVEN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- 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. "

The White House sought as little attention, with Bush casting his veto
behind closed doors without any fanfare or news coverage. He was
discussing it later Wednesday during a budget speech in Lancaster, Pa.

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, over 6
million are under 18 years old. That's over 9 percent of all children.

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.

(This version CORRECTS SUBS 5th graf, The White, to ADD Bush appearance
later; SUBS 10th graf, Democrats deny, to correct that over 9 percent
of 18-year-olds are uninsured; will be led from Bush speech. )

© 2007 The Associated Press.