Bush vows to veto kids' health insurance bill
According to MSNBC, "Democrats in Congress have decided to pass a bill they know will be vetoed," Bush said of the measure that draws significant bipartisan support, repeating in his weekly radio address an accusation he made earlier in the week. "Members of Congress are risking health coverage for poor children purely to make a political point."
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell said that if Bush doesn't sign the bill, more than 15 states won't have any funding left in the program.
The Children's Health Insurance Program that subsidizes health coverage mostly for children in lower income families that can't afford insurance but make too much money to be qualified for MedicAid. The program already hs 6.6 million people and the proposal that was announced Friday would include $35 billion dollars over the next five years which will add four million more to the program.
The money provided will come from cigarette taxes increasing from 61 cents to $1 per pack.
According to CNN, a vote is scheduled for Tuesday and is heavily supported by the Democratic party with support from the Republican party as well. Bush has planned for a veto saying the issue is too costly and doesn't move children's healthcare forward.
"Our goal should be to move children who have no health insurance to private coverage -- not to move children who already have private health insurance to government coverage," Bush said.
Many governors want the bill to pass and some say that if it doesn't, thousands of chldren will lose health coverage.