House Fails to Override Bush Veto of Child Insurnace Bill

Bush vetoed a proposed five-year expansion and $35 billion spending increase in children's health care. This was the fourth veto in Bush's career. He has proposed increasing the program by a minimal $5 billion. The SCHIP program currently covers 6 million children and this vetoed bill would have expanded the coverage to 10 million lower and middle-class children.

The additional expense was to be covered by an increase in cigarette tax, $.61 per pack. President Bush could not possibly understand the true needs of these families. The war in Iraq doesn't mean anything to the middle class family who cannot afford to take their child to the doctor when they are ill.

The bill fell 13 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed for an override, 273 to 156, with 44 Republicans voting for the override. Democrats have made it clear that they will not rest until they pass this bill.

Does public opinion matter? Seemingly not in this instance.

"A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Wednesday found strong support for Democrats' efforts to override the veto. The poll found 61 percent of Americans believe Congress should overrule Bush, while 35 percent believe the veto should be sustained.
Pollsters interviewed 1,212 people from Friday through Sunday. The survey has a sampling error of 3 percentage points."

I am saddened by President Bush's lack of compassion and sypathy for the working class and for the lack of care and concern for our children, our future.

This article can be viewed at: http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/18/schip/index.html