The CHIPs Are Down
September 25th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
The U.S. House will take a key vote today on the future of the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program.
House-Senate negotiators struck a compromise late last week on a bill to renew CHIP. It would increase funding for the program by $35 billion over five years, enough to provide coverage for roughly three million uninsured kids. (For all you wonks out there, you can read more details on the bill here.) It has gained some significant Republican support. Without reauthorization, CHIP will expire on Sunday. If a bill doesn’t pass by the end of the week, Congress can temporarily extend the program.
Of course, President Bush has threatened to veto the bill. Bush has been arguing for a week that if Democrats force him to veto CHIP, it won’t be his fault.
The veto threat makes today’s House vote worth watching. The bill will almost assuredly pass. The question is by how much. It requires two-thirds of the House (290 votes) to override a presidential veto. The Senate reportedly has enough votes. If House Democratic leaders can woo enough GOP support to get close to the veto-proof majority, they can render Bush moot on the issue.
If not, it’s back to the negotiating table with a White House that’s been pretty stingy on health insurance for kids lately.
October 18th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Stingy? It is my money, after all. I should get to be allowed to keep at least a little of it. It’s America, and we decided about 200 years ago that we didn’t want the hate and control that comes with socialism.