SCHIP Passes House; Bush still threatens veto.
Five million children of the working poor who would otherwise have no access to health care would be covered under expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The bill passed the house yesterday and now heads to the Senate.
Expanding SCHIP has the support of governors from both parties, the American Medical Association, AARP, the March of Dimes, the Catholic Health Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics; yet the vote was still 225 to 204, largely along party lines.
There you have it… Democrats are for guaranteed health care for poor kids and Republicans would rather tell the little tikes, “Your parents can’t pay? You can’t pay? Tough s---! The free market doesn’t care.”
Here’s a greatest hits of quotes from lawmakers who oppose kids getting health care when their parents cannot afford it, and when it hurts the insurance industry’s bottom line:
- President Bush: "When you expand eligibility . . . you're really beginning to open up an avenue for people to switch from private insurance to the government."
- Rep. Dennis Hastert: "Folks, that's the bottom line: It's government-paid health care."
- House Minority Leader John Boehner: “Congress should not encourage individuals to drop private insurance in favor of government-run health care, and that’s exactly what the Democrats’ plan does.” (Does he get that these are people WITHOUT INSURANCE?)
But what really ticked off Republican members of the House was that the SCHIP expansion will be paid for by a tobacco tax. Republican congressional campaigns rake in more than $2.5 million dollars from tobacco companies.
- Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY):"I think [the Democrats'] game plan ... is about raising taxes on virtually everybody." (Everybody that owns a tobacco company)
- House Ways & Means Committee Republican Ranking Member Jim McCrery (R-LA ): “Tobacco taxes fall hardest on the working poor – the very people that SCHIP was originally designed to help. Under the Democrats' proposal, a working family in which both parents smoke (not uncommon in a country where 1 in 5 adults smoke) would face over $1200 a year in federal tobacco taxes.” (Gee, I'm convinced McCrery cares about working people who smoke and not the tobacco companies that contribute to his re-election campaigns.)
But wait… Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to the rescue! Orrin Hatch to the rescue? The Senator has pledged to help pass the bill in the Senate. "It's difficult for me to understand how anyone wouldn't want to do this,” said Hatch, later adding: "Personally, I believe if we can get enough votes, the president doesn't want to veto this."
I just caught myself admiring Orrin Hatch.
Comments (1)
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Sure. "Kids" at the age of 25 are now covered. Some 70% of American "kids" will be covered by this legislation...are 70% of America's "kids" poor? I don't think so... This bill does, in fact, raise taxes on everybody, not just Big Tobacco. 70% of America's children are without health insurance? Are you sure about that???
Posted by Matt Hurley on August 2, 2007 at 1:43 PM
Posted on August 2, 2007 at 1:43 PM