.http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/....ap/index.html
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate passed legislation Thursday to add 3 million lower-income children to a popular health insurance program in bipartisan defiance of President Bush's threatened veto.
The 68-31 vote, one day after the House passed a more ambitious and expensive version over bitter Republican opposition, handed Democrats a solid achievement to trumpet as they leave Washington for a summer break.
It also gave Democrats, who secured a veto-proof margin, a chance to draw a stark distinction between their priorities and Bush's on an issue that resonates with voters.
"For the life of me, I can't understand why the president would want to veto this legislation," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the Finance Committee chairman. "It's moderate, it's bipartisan, it helps low-income kids. ... It's just the right thing to do for the country."
Bush has proposed spending $5 billion to extend the program. He says the Senate's $35 billion expansion would balloon the decade-old program beyond its original mission of covering children of working-poor parents and would move more people toward government-run health care.
The State Children's Health Insurance Program expires Sept. 30.
The Senate measure now must be reconciled with the House-passed $50 billion expansion, which was paid for partly by cutting government payments to Medicare health maintenance organizations.
Both bills include hefty tax increases on tobacco products to pay for the spending increase.
The health program is designed to subsidize the cost of insurance for children whose families earn too much to participate in Medicaid, but not enough to afford private health insurance.
Through federal waivers, the program has expanded in many states to include middle-income children and adults. That has led Republicans to argue that it has become a backdoor way to extend government-provided health care to an increasing number of people.
National polls show overwhelming majorities of voters support expanding the children's health program and are more likely to support candidates who back it
Veto proof. Good for the children who need medical assistance. 5..4..3..2..1.. ' they have the emergency room option' argument..
Well, other than the fact that a large federal government disgusts me, this is good, I guess.
Although, I really can't wait to see the fun that happens when the tobacco industry finally collapses due to over taxing and governments forbidding their use most places. It's ridiculous that over half the price of a pack of cigarettes is already taxes.
"when the tobacco industry finally collapses"
Don't worry, as wonderful as that would be, they have $Bs to buy politicians, their addicts are hooked deeply, so the poison will continue to flow.
Uhh... It'll happen. only about half (IIRC) as many people smoke now as they did 15 years ago, and with the taxes continually increasing and the bans continually expanding, it's less and less appealing to start.
I've been smoking since I was 7, and I'm not willing to pay much more than I already am. It's just too ridiculous. Especially since this would be the 3rd tax related jump in prices in 2 years here.
Oh, and tobacco is a rather small contributer to politics now-a-days (especially compared to what it used to be). Mostly it's Marlboro that butts in, and they are more interested in preserving their market share than anything.
7 yrs old? Were you born in Europe?
Nope, here in San Antonio. It's not hard to get cigarettes when everyone you know has a parent that smokes. It'd be a bit harder in todays climate.
I didn't start buying cigarettes until i was 16, though
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