SCHIP SHOW DOWN OCTOBER 18TH: IT WILL BOMB AS IS SHOULD!

SCHIP showdown set for October 18
Jim Brown
OneNewsNow.com
October 5, 2007

http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/10/schip_showdown_set_for_october.php


House Republicans say they have enough votes to sustain President Bush's veto of a proposed $35 billion expansion of the state children's health insurance program.

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A contingent of House members 151-strong that includes a few Democrats has pledged to sustain the president's veto of SCHIP (H.R. 3162). If all members are present, 146 votes are needed to make the veto stick. According to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, "It's going to be a hard vote for Republicans" on October 18.

However, Congresswoman Mary Fallin (R-Oklahoma) says it will not be a difficult one for her. "My opinion is that it is taking the first step to moving the population towards a government-run socialized medical system," she says. In addition, she argues it was not the original intent of the SCHIP to expand the insurance to cover middle-class families, and even some adults, up to 400 percent of poverty level in some cases.

Representative Kevin Brady (R-Texas) has stated his support of the president's veto, calling the bill "terribly flawed" because it does not cover poor children first, is "only half-paid for," and allows "the worst abuses in this program to continue." For example, he notes that illegal aliens would be able to obtain medical coverage under the SCHIP plan.

"The Social Security Administration warned Congress last week with this new bill that people who have overstayed their visas and those who fraudulently use other people's Social Security cards will be eligible for these benefits -- and these are serious loopholes, all that need to be closed," the Texas lawmaker points out.

Brady notes that some states are covering families making over $80,000 a year, and even adults without children. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has called President Bush's veto of the SCHIP "heartless."