House Debates Override of President Bush’s Veto of Children’s Healthcare
October 18th, 2007 by Jesse LeeThe House is currently debating whether to override President Bush’s veto of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007. This bill would bring health coverage to approximately ten million children in need – preserving coverage for all 6.6 million children currently covered by CHIP, and reaching millions more low-income, uninsured American children in the next five years.
Rep. Chairlie Rangel, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, speaks in favor of overriding:
| Rep. Rangel: “Let me stand in a sense of bipartisanship, especially to my Republican friends, and to remind you that comes the next election, President Bush is going to be there at his ranch in Texas and he will not be with you at the polls. I say that because by that time, the truth will have caught up with the message that the President is giving, and most of you are using, to sustain the President’s veto.” |
Rep. John Hall (NY-19) speaks in support:
| Rep. Hall: “It has proven to be a popular, successful program, covering 6.6 million children nationwide and helping to reduce the number of uninsured children in my state of New York by 40%. The bill he vetoed would help 268,000 more of New York’s kids. The President has said that children don’t need health care, all they need to do when they get sick is go to an emergency room. I’m not sure if that comment was uninformed, irresponsible or simply callous, but I think that parents of New York would like to see the veto overridden.” |
Rep. John Lewis (GA-05) speaks in support:
| Rep. Lewis: “We have a mission, an obligation and a mandate to provide health insurance for all of the children and override the President’s veto. We can spend millions and billions of dollars on war, but we cannot take care of health care for our children. It would be a shame and a disgrace not to take care of the little children. We must take care of the children. Suffer the little children. They need our help and they need it now. Override this veto.” |
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) speaks in favor:
| Rep. Shea-Porter: “As Senator Grassley wrote in a letter to the Washington Post, ‘It’s fine to have a philosophical debate over the merits of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. But opponents should be intellectually honest about what our bill does and doesn’t do.’ Despite this the President and a few supporters are still clinging to a series myths, distortions and spin to try to mislead the public. The president keeps talking about families earning as much as $83,000 a year. If this were true, I would have voted against this program. And as for the exception for New Jersey, the $72,000 was requested by a Republican Governor and approved by President Bush’s administration.” |