House Sustains Bush’s SCHIP Veto

The House failed, by just 13 votes, to over-ride the president’s veto of a bill expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and spending $35 billion over the next 5 years. Although more than 40 Republicans voted against Mr. Bush, the 273 to 156 vote in favor failed to reach the constitutionally required 2/3 majority. The White House has won an ideological victory and has handed the Democrats a big stick with which to beat Republican candidates in 2008.

Mr. Bush, who incidentally has government provided health insurance as do all members of Congress, had offered to increase spending by 20%, giving the program $25 billion over the next five year. The House had originally passed a $60 billion expansion so the $35 billion in the vetoed version already looked to a lot of House members like a compromise. In the end, many believe that the final compromise will look more like the vetoed version than Mr. Bush’s offered level of spending. In addition, the program still continues to function, so there aren’t actually any kids who are going without medical care because of the veto.

This bill, though, was never about taking care of sick kids. It was about posturing by both parties. The Democrats expansion of the program would probably take some kids out of the private health care system as Mr. Bush stated. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office said in a report earlier this year “for every 100 children who gain coverage as a result of SCHIP, there is a corresponding reduction in private coverage of between 25 and 50 children.”

Ignoring for a moment the fact that one is mathematically adding 50-75 kids who had no coverage at all, the question is why? The CBO said, “SCHIP provides an alternative source of coverage that is less expensive and that often provides a broader range of benefits than private insurance.” More benefits for less money? That means it’s more efficient regardless of what the free-market-is-always-better group says. Facts trump ideology.

For their part, the Democrats have been rather vulgar in their attack ads. On TV spot shows a rather likeable little girl and the narrator says, “George Bush just vetoed Abby.” Some of this is revenge for years of GOP viciousness in branding anyone who didn’t want American troops to die in Iraq-Nam as unpatriotic or traitors. Some of it is the knowledge that they have a winning issue if they stand firm. Emanuel Rahm (D-IL) said yesterday, “There will be no compromise on 10 million children’s health care.” He’s wrong. Anything that gets passed and signed now will be a compromise, and that’s what politics is all about; of course, that's after beating on the other side for a while.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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