Today, the House will hold a politically-orchestrated vote to override the President's veto of a flawed "children's" health care bill that actually would cover illegal immigrants, adults, and families who already have health insurance. Sound familiar? It should. That's because the House held the same vote three months ago, when the House sustained the President's first veto of this irresponsible legislation. Today's political games are especially disappointing since Congress voted in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion last month to extend the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) into 2009 and cover the program's funding shortfall – a bill modeled on legislation introduced by House Republicans all the way back in September.
In any case, the House could have held this override vote in December after the President vetoed it, but leaders of the Majority pushed it off for more than a month in an attempt to drum up more support. Did it work? Not at all…
The problems with the Majority's most recent sham SCHIP bill are countless, but here are just a handful:
* It fails to put low-income children first.
* It insures adults and illegal immigrants.
* It forces some two million children from private health insurance to government-run care.
* It contains a massive tax hike and district-specific earmarks and pork projects.
* And according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) it even COSTS MORE and COVERS FEWER CHILDREN than the Majority's original SCHIP legislation, which the President vetoed last fall.
Last year, Democrats routinely used our nation's children as a political football, and their strategy imploded. Apparently unfazed by their failure, they seem poised to keep on playing the political games in 2008 – and their allies on the Left seem willing to join them once again. After tens of millions of dollars – and countless hours – spent fruitlessly by House Democrats and their liberal allies, will the Majority finally acknowledge the need to work with Republicans to put low-income children first? Or will they continue to push flawed bill after flawed bill that insures illegal immigrants and adults at the expense of the low-income children both parties designed SCHIP to serve in the first place?
It sounds like they're debating this right now, so if you have a moment to call your Rep, that would be a very good thing.
On the bigger scope of things, Hillary Clinton's first attempt at universal health care in the early 90's was an unprecedented grab at an enormous amount of power over the lives of Americans. Newly released memos from 1993 have confirmed beyond doubt that was the intent of the program back then [I'll expand more on this in a later post]. Now, remember that they've already admitted SCHIP is the first step of her second attempt at universal health care. I hate to sound like a broken record on this issue, but SCHIP is a disaster, and cannot be allowed to pass! Call and stop Pelosi and Democrat leaders who are trying to hose YOU!
There's my two cents.
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