WaPo reports the Dems plan to press ahead on SCHIP.A failed veto override on a major children's health insurance program yesterday prompted House Democratic leaders to promise to push a new version of the bill, daring Republicans to oppose them. [...]
To override Bush's veto, the House needed two-thirds of those voting to support the bill. The measure attracted 273 votes, including 44 from Republicans, and was opposed by 156, just two of them from Democrats. [...]
The vetoed bill would have expanded the $5 billion-a-year program by an average of $7 billion a year over the next five years, for total funding of $60 billion over that period. That would have been enough to boost enrollment to 10 million children, up from 6.6 million, and to dramatically reduce the number of uninsured children in the country, currently about 9 million, supporters say.
While Pelosi is willing to talk to Bush, she stressed that Democrats will accept nothing less than an expansion to 10 million children. "That's not negotiable," she said. [...]
Public opinion polls show that 75 to 80 percent of the nation supports the vetoed bill. After yesterday's vote, the liberal activist group MoveOn.org launched another round of ads, targeting six House Republicans.
Remember when the phrase "liberal activist group" didn't automatically proceed MoveOn.org? Thank goodness MoveOn.org IS ALSO pressing forward on behalf of children of poor and working poor families.
No comments:
Post a Comment