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October 3, 2007
Bush Vetoes Children's Health Bill
By DAVID STOUT
WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 - President Bush vetoed the children's health insurance
bill today, as he had promised to do, setting the stage for more
negotiations between the White House and Congress and sparking unusual
dismay from some prominent Republicans.
Mr. Bush wielded his pen with no fanfare just before leaving for a visit to
Lancaster, Pa. The veto was only the fourth of Mr. Bush's presidency.
"Because the Congress has chosen to send me a bill that moves our health
care system in the wrong direction, I must veto it," Mr. Bush said in his
veto statement, adding that he hoped to work with the lawmakers "to produce
a good bill that puts poorer children first."
The bill was approved by Congress with unusual bipartisan support, as many
Republicans who side with the president on almost everything else voted to
expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or Schip, from its
current enrollment of about 6.6 million children to more than 10 million.
The measure would provide $60 billion over the next five years, $35 billion
more than current spending and $30 billion more than the president proposed.
Mr. Bush and his backers argue that the bill would be a step toward
federalization of health care, and that it would steer the program away from
its core purpose of providing insurance for poor children and toward
covering children from middle-class families. The program was to expire on
Sept. 30 but financing for it has been continued through a stopgap spending
bill that will be in effect through mid-November.
The White House has rejected as "preposterous" any suggestion that Mr. Bush
does not care about the welfare of poor children.
Later, in an appearance before the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, Mr. Bush expanded on his reasons for vetoing the bill. "It is
estimated that if this program were to become law, one out of every three
persons that would subscribe to the new expanded Schip would leave private
insurance," the president said. "The policies of the government ought to be
to help poor children and to focus on poor children, and the policies of the
government ought to be to help people find private insurance, not federal
coverage. And that's where the philosophical divide comes in."
But the philosophical divide is not just between Republicans and Democrats,
as the reaction of some Republicans demonstrated.
"Unfortunately, I believe that some have given the president bad advice on
this matter," said Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah. He said
supporting the health bill " is the morally right thing to do ," and
that he hoped Mr. Bush's veto could be overridden.
Another Republican, Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon, expressed similar
sentiments and called Mr. Bush's decision " an irresponsible use of the veto
pen ."
And Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, said there were
"valid concerns about expanding Schip," but that Mr. Bush should "sit down
with Congress so that we can continue the Schip program within the scope of
its original mission."
As expected, the veto brought immediate statements of anger from Democrats.
"Today we learned that the same president who is willing to throw away a
half trillion dollars in Iraq is unwilling to spend a small fraction of that
amount to bring health care to American children," said Senator Edward M.
Kennedy, the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee.
Mr. Kennedy's fellow Democrat from Massachusetts and Mr. Bush's 2004
opponent, Senator John Kerry, said, "Today with a single stroke of his veto
pen, President Bush single-handedly jeopardized health care for millions of
poor children."
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said the "heartless veto"
showed how "detached President Bush is from the priorities of the American
people."
Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the House Democratic
Caucus, said, "Today the president showed the nation his true priorities:
$700 billion for a war in Iraq, but no health care for low-income kids."
Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey said: "Once again, President Bush has missed
an opportunity to display compassionate leadership. Instead, he has resorted
to political and ideological gamesmanship rather than seek a bipartisan
solution that would protect this nation's most vulnerable children."
Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said: "We have no choice
but to try to override his veto. The Senate already has the votes to do it,
so it is now up to the holdouts in the House to decide whether to vote their
conscience or join the president in putting ideology above kids."
Mr. Schumer put his finger on the numbers working against supporters of the
bill. It cleared the Senate by a veto-proof 67 to 29, but the vote in the
House was 265 to 159, a couple dozen short of the two-thirds needed to
override Mr. Bush's veto, assuming that the full House voted.
Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, the House Republican whip, told The
Associated Press he was "absolutely confident" that there was strong enough
opposition in the House to sustain a veto. But Mr. Blunt's counterpart in
the Senate, Trent Lott of Mississippi, said Congress should be able to reach
a compromise with the president. "We can work it out," Mr. Lott told the
A.P.
Dana Perino, the White House spokeswoman, said Mr. Bush's critics had "made
their political point."
"What the president said is, look, send me the bill, I will veto it, and
then we will get about the business of trying to find some common ground and
reach an agreement on a way forward," Ms. Perino said.
Bush Vetoes Children's Health Bill
By DAVID STOUT
WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 - President Bush vetoed the children's health insurance
bill today, as he had promised to do, setting the stage for more
negotiations between the White House and Congress and sparking unusual
dismay from some prominent Republicans.
Mr. Bush wielded his pen with no fanfare just before leaving for a visit to
Lancaster, Pa. The veto was only the fourth of Mr. Bush's presidency.
"Because the Congress has chosen to send me a bill that moves our health
care system in the wrong direction, I must veto it," Mr. Bush said in his
veto statement, adding that he hoped to work with the lawmakers "to produce
a good bill that puts poorer children first."
The bill was approved by Congress with unusual bipartisan support, as many
Republicans who side with the president on almost everything else voted to
expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or Schip, from its
current enrollment of about 6.6 million children to more than 10 million.
The measure would provide $60 billion over the next five years, $35 billion
more than current spending and $30 billion more than the president proposed.
Mr. Bush and his backers argue that the bill would be a step toward
federalization of health care, and that it would steer the program away from
its core purpose of providing insurance for poor children and toward
covering children from middle-class families. The program was to expire on
Sept. 30 but financing for it has been continued through a stopgap spending
bill that will be in effect through mid-November.
The White House has rejected as "preposterous" any suggestion that Mr. Bush
does not care about the welfare of poor children.
Later, in an appearance before the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, Mr. Bush expanded on his reasons for vetoing the bill. "It is
estimated that if this program were to become law, one out of every three
persons that would subscribe to the new expanded Schip would leave private
insurance," the president said. "The policies of the government ought to be
to help poor children and to focus on poor children, and the policies of the
government ought to be to help people find private insurance, not federal
coverage. And that's where the philosophical divide comes in."
But the philosophical divide is not just between Republicans and Democrats,
as the reaction of some Republicans demonstrated.
"Unfortunately, I believe that some have given the president bad advice on
this matter," said Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah. He said
supporting the health bill " is the morally right thing to do ," and
that he hoped Mr. Bush's veto could be overridden.
Another Republican, Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon, expressed similar
sentiments and called Mr. Bush's decision " an irresponsible use of the veto
pen ."
And Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, said there were
"valid concerns about expanding Schip," but that Mr. Bush should "sit down
with Congress so that we can continue the Schip program within the scope of
its original mission."
As expected, the veto brought immediate statements of anger from Democrats.
"Today we learned that the same president who is willing to throw away a
half trillion dollars in Iraq is unwilling to spend a small fraction of that
amount to bring health care to American children," said Senator Edward M.
Kennedy, the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee.
Mr. Kennedy's fellow Democrat from Massachusetts and Mr. Bush's 2004
opponent, Senator John Kerry, said, "Today with a single stroke of his veto
pen, President Bush single-handedly jeopardized health care for millions of
poor children."
Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said the "heartless veto"
showed how "detached President Bush is from the priorities of the American
people."
Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the House Democratic
Caucus, said, "Today the president showed the nation his true priorities:
$700 billion for a war in Iraq, but no health care for low-income kids."
Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey said: "Once again, President Bush has missed
an opportunity to display compassionate leadership. Instead, he has resorted
to political and ideological gamesmanship rather than seek a bipartisan
solution that would protect this nation's most vulnerable children."
Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said: "We have no choice
but to try to override his veto. The Senate already has the votes to do it,
so it is now up to the holdouts in the House to decide whether to vote their
conscience or join the president in putting ideology above kids."
Mr. Schumer put his finger on the numbers working against supporters of the
bill. It cleared the Senate by a veto-proof 67 to 29, but the vote in the
House was 265 to 159, a couple dozen short of the two-thirds needed to
override Mr. Bush's veto, assuming that the full House voted.
Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, the House Republican whip, told The
Associated Press he was "absolutely confident" that there was strong enough
opposition in the House to sustain a veto. But Mr. Blunt's counterpart in
the Senate, Trent Lott of Mississippi, said Congress should be able to reach
a compromise with the president. "We can work it out," Mr. Lott told the
A.P.
Dana Perino, the White House spokeswoman, said Mr. Bush's critics had "made
their political point."
"What the president said is, look, send me the bill, I will veto it, and
then we will get about the business of trying to find some common ground and
reach an agreement on a way forward," Ms. Perino said.
