Lawmakers Criticize Bush's Kids' Health Plan Veto

Oct 04, 06:30 AM

Current Headlines: By Martin C, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Oct. 4--WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush's veto of a bipartisan bill that would dramatically expand the SCHIP children's health insurance program yesterday drew sharp rebuke from both sides of the aisle.

"This is a presidency fixated on ideology and not one fixated on solving the nation's problems," said Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton). "Kids need health care."

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, a conservative Republican, said: "Frankly, I don't understand how we can say it is a great program without covering the kids who deserve to be covered."

The bill would have provided an additional $35 billion for the State Children's Health Insurance Program -- $30 billion more than Bush wanted.

The expansion, which primarily targets low-income families, is a key goal for New York's delegation. All five Long Island congressmen voted for it, including Peter King (R-Seaford), a Bush ally, who said he would vote to override the veto.

Although nearly 68,000 Long Island children are insured under SCHIP, 53,400 others have no health insurance, according to the state Health Department. In New York City, 160,000 children are in the program and 217,000 lack coverage.

The measure has the support of a veto-proof majority in the Senate, but there are sufficient Republican holdouts in the House to uphold the veto.

An aide to Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said Democrats will pressure wavering Republicans to side with them when Congress attempts a veto override in mid-October.

King said pressure tactics could backfire.

Yesterday's veto, only the fourth in Bush's presidency, could carry grave risks for Republicans as next year's elections approach.

Concern over the availability of health care has emerged as a major issue, and voters say they trust Democrats more than Republicans to address it, according to polling.

The legislation would reauthorize coverage for 6.6 million children and extend the program to 4 million more.

Bush has said the expansion would bring a program designed for the poor to the middle class, and would "crowd out" private insurers by encouraging insured families to switch to the public program.

"The policies of the government ought to be, help poor children and to focus on poor children," Bush said in Pennsylvania. "And the policies of the government ought to be, help people find private insurance, not federal coverage."

Proponents have said the vast majority of beneficiaries of an expansion would be poor. SCHIP benefits in New York are limited to children from families earning up to 250 percent of the poverty level, or $51,625 for a family of four. The expansion would extend eligibility to families earning as much as $61,950, or 300 percent of the poverty level.

"The American people supported this bill overwhelmingly," Gov. Eliot Spitzer said in a release. "Because they understand that denying children health coverage is not only morally wrong, it is profoundly bad public policy."

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