WASHINGTON -- A defiant Democratic-controlled Congress voted Thursday to provide health insurance to 4 million lower-income children, ignoring President Bush's threat of a second straight veto on the issue, reported the Associated Press.
The legislation to extend and expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) cleared the Senate on a vote of 64-30. It passed the House last week, but supporters were shy of the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush's threatened veto. The expansion would be paid for by a federal tobacco tax increase.[image-nocss]
Republicans dictated the decision to pass the legislation speedily. It appeared their goal was to short-circuit attempts by supporters of the bill to reach a compromise that could attract enough votes in the House to override Bush's veto.
Attempts by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) to delay final passage of the bill until next week or longer drew objections from the GOP.
I believe a deal is within reach, said Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, a participant in meetings with two senior Senate Republicans and several members of the House GOP.
Baucus said the negotiations would resume next week.
The veto-threatened measure would add an estimated 4 million beneficiaries to an existing program that provides coverage for children from families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but cannot afford private insurance. The program currently provides benefits to roughly 6 million children.
At a cost of $35 billion, the bill would be paid for through an increase in tobacco taxes, including a 61-cent rise on a package of cigarettes.
Bush vetoed an earlier children's health bill, and Republican critics said it failed to give a high enough priority to covering poor children, marked a Democratic attempt to expand government-run health care and did not take sufficient steps to prevent the children of illegal immigrants from receiving benefits.
Democrats failed to override his veto on a vote of 273-156, 13 short of the two-thirds majority they needed. In response, Democrats launched a replacement measure, incorporating changes they said were designed to meet Republican objections to their first offering.
But Bush dismissed those efforts this week, telling a business audience, If Congress sends this bill back to me, I'm going to veto it again. He predicted his second veto would be upheld.
A day earlier, the president told House Republicans in a private meeting that he would veto any measure that raised tobacco taxes, a significant hardening of the administration's public position on the issue. (Click here to view CSP Daily News coverage.)
Political polls show the children's health issue enjoys widespread support, and Democrats and their allies have moved quickly to exploit it for advantage with TV and radio commercials attacking Republicans who opposed the legislation. The result has been a growing nervousness among House Republicans looking ahead to the 2008 elections. The party's top leaders, Representatives John Boehner of Ohio and Roy Blunt of Missouri, joined the compromise negotiations in recent days. It is unlikely either of them would support a bill that raises taxes. Rather, officials said their intention was to coax as many concessions as possible from the Democrats so that the next measure would be one that other Republicans could comfortably support.
As part of their effort, House Republicans presented a proposal several days ago that requires a 90% signup rate for the poorest eligible children before a state can expand coverage.
According to a description of the proposal made available to AP, no adults could be covered beginning Oct. 1, 2008, except for pregnant women, although any adults currently receiving benefits could be transferred to Medicaid. All applicants would be required to stipulate that family assets did not exceed $1 million. Anyone seeking coverage would have to provide a birth certificate as proof of citizenship, a provision designed to bar illegal immigrants from receiving benefits.
The proposal from House Republicans made no mention of the tobacco tax increase.
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