The stage is set for one of the most significant domestic policy showdowns of the Bush presidency.
The Senate on Thursday night cleared a massive children's health insurance bill by a veto-proof margin,
67-29, but House approval earlier this week of the same bill was not enough for a veto override, leaving President Bush with the upper hand for now.
Eighteen Republicans in the Senate, some of whom have been Bush allies for years, voted for the $35 billion increase in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The Senate GOP defectors joined 45 House Republicans who voted for the bill.
For Democrats and the growing group of Republicans backing the bill, the expansion of SCHIP is an important moment in American health care policy because it would cover four million more uninsured children, on top of the 6.6 million already receiving benefits. The program was actually an innovation of the Republican Congress in 1997, but Democrats have sought to expand SCHIP to cover even more uninsured children whose parents make too much money to qualify for Medicaid.
Despite the bipartisan support, conservatives still have enough votes to prevail in sustaining the veto. President Bush and GOP congressional leaders see the expansion to more middle income families as a step toward government run health insurance for everyone.
Continue reading
The Senate on Thursday night cleared a massive children's health insurance bill by a veto-proof margin,
67-29, but House approval earlier this week of the same bill was not enough for a veto override, leaving President Bush with the upper hand for now.
Eighteen Republicans in the Senate, some of whom have been Bush allies for years, voted for the $35 billion increase in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The Senate GOP defectors joined 45 House Republicans who voted for the bill.
For Democrats and the growing group of Republicans backing the bill, the expansion of SCHIP is an important moment in American health care policy because it would cover four million more uninsured children, on top of the 6.6 million already receiving benefits. The program was actually an innovation of the Republican Congress in 1997, but Democrats have sought to expand SCHIP to cover even more uninsured children whose parents make too much money to qualify for Medicaid.
Despite the bipartisan support, conservatives still have enough votes to prevail in sustaining the veto. President Bush and GOP congressional leaders see the expansion to more middle income families as a step toward government run health insurance for everyone.
Continue reading
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