House Fails to Reverse Child Health Veto

Oct. 18, 2007 — -- After weeks of political rhetoric and millions of dollars in TV ads, supporters of a proposed $35 billion expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, were handed a defeat Thursday afternoon, having failed to move even one House Republican to change his mind and vote in favor of the program.

Supporters of the bill, designed to expand coverage of health insurance for children from families not destitute enough to qualify for Medicaid but still unable to afford coverage, had hoped to garner enough votes in the House of Representatives to override President Bush's Oct. 3 veto.

"The president, on the issue of insuring 10 million children, does not share our values," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "Health care for America's children is a value, it is an ethic, it is what should be fundamental to a country."

But the House vote ) was 273 in favor of the override, 156 against -- 13 votes short of the two-thirds majority of those present and voting required for an override.

The 273-156 number was not different enough from the 265-159 vote to pass the program on Sept. 25. And no GOP votes changed, indicating that despite three weeks of trying to change Republican votes, Democrats, public interest groups and other supporters, such as Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, made no headway.

On the original vote, 45 Republicans broke with the White House and supported the SCHIP expansion. This time, 44 Republicans voted that way.

"This is the legislative process," said Pelosi, who said she intends to bring up another SCHIP bill -- one intended to "get many more" Republican supporters -- for a vote within the next two weeks.

Pelosi said she would not compromise on the number of children for whom she wants to expand coverage --10 million. And she said she would not compromise on the funding source, an increased tobacco tax that includes an additional 61 cents for a pack of cigarettes, which Bush has objected to as a tax that primarily hurts lower-income individuals.