SEARCH
Nation Rallies for Children’s Health Care |
 |
|
Across the country this week, working families, children’s health care advocates, civil rights and community groups are holding rallies, marches and vigils to tell Congress to override President Bush’s veto of health care for millions of America’s children.
One the largest vigils is set for Capitol Hill on Tuesday at 5 p.m., some 48 hours before the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote to override Bush’s veto of the bill, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
The bill maintains coverage for the more than 6 million children already enrolled and extends health care coverage to another 4 million uninsured children. It was approved by large bipartisan votes in both the House and Senate. But the 265–159 House vote fell two dozen short of the of the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush’s veto.
Participants at the Capitol Hill rally and the other events hope to convince enough Republican lawmakers to buck Bush’s veto and listen to the vast majority of voters who say the children’s health bill should become law. A recent poll showed 81 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of Independents and 61 percent of Republicans back the SCHIP legislation.
Two Ohio lawmakers who voted against the children’s health bill in the House—Rep. Steve Chabot (R) and Rep. Jean Schmidt (R)—heard from a delegation of Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans members today.
In letters to both, they were urged to “stop playing politics” with America’s children and to vote to override Bush’s veto. Says Ohio Alliance Treasurer Sally Steagall:
Children and seniors are linked by a common threat to heath care, and Alliance retirees will hold Congress accountable for providing health care to all. Providing health insurance to children is about protecting our grandkids now, but is also about the importance of protecting access to quality health care through all stages of life.
Funding for the program expired Sept. 30. But Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep government agencies open that haven’t had their appropriations bills approved, and included money to fund SCHIP at current levels through Nov. 16. But each day without a reauthorization bill signed into law is another day that the 4 million children made eligible under the vetoed bill have to unnecessarily go without health insurance.
You can call your representatives and urge then to override Bush’s veto. Click here for more information.
4 Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
I hope that the President signs the SCHIP bill for the kids since we can afford million dollar toilet seats and nuts and bolts at the Pentagon and neglect underprivliged kids. Thank you.
I know the president and Congress have free health care but the children of working families need care also even if they are American children.
A quote from Sunday’s Parade magazine: “In the 2006 fiscal year, the U.S. government spent more than $415 BILLION on contracts with 176,172 companies and entities. About one quarter of that total - $100 billion- went to only six companies. Who were the big winners? Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon and KBR (formerly part of Halliburton). All do the majority of their government business with the Department of Defense. What’s more, less than 40% of the contracts that went to these companies were awarded in full and open competition.” The pork is oozing out of those contracts, especially the no-bid ones, but Grinch Bush is screaming about $5 billion a year for children’s health care? About 1/10 of 1% of that $415 billion….
Oops…an error in my last post: SCHIP would cost $35 billion for five years, not seven, so the cost would be $7 billion per year. The Parade article gave an annual figure of $415 billion, and I doubt that it would be any lower for 2007, so the $7 billion would be .02 percent of the estimated $415 billion or more for 2007 and in the future years. Grinch George is making another mountain out of a molehill and neglecting the HUGE mountain behind him….