Dualing Hyperbole: The Veto Battle Over SCHIP
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) put a sign on the floor of the House chamber today: "SCHIP: Socialized Clinton-style Hillarycare for Illegals and their Parents." [Non-citizens are not eligible for SCHIP.] (source)
Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) said, from the floor, "You (Republicans) don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement." [Since 2001, Congress has had to borrow money to fund its programs.] (source)
King is echoing remarks that Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) made to USA Today earlier this week, saying the program is “Socialized, Cuba-style Health care for Illegals and their Parents.” Do we have party-recognized talking points at work here?
For the record, the House failed to override the President's veto of the HR 976, the SCHIP measure, which would extend (and expand) The State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which sunset on 1 October. SCHIP provided money to states on a matching basis for fiscal years 1998 - 2007. It originated in a Republican Congress.
The program, Title XXI of the Social Security Act, is jointly administered by state and federal governments and targets families who have no employer-provided insurance and make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough for self-purchased insurance.
The victim in this partisan squabble is those currently covered by the program. It's past time for both sides to agree to extending the sunset -- if it's good enough for Iraq-related issues, it should be good enough for this one. This is a logical response, if the goal is one of statesmanship. However, it is quite possible that the Democrats want to use this vote as a club to beat Republicans over the head with in November 2008. (And vice versa.)
Remember, the bill passed both chambers with support from both parties; it simply had insufficient support for a veto override (2/3 required). And also remember this: President Bush has vetoed only four bills since assuming the Presidency: stem cell research (twice), one on Iraq, and this one.