Wednesday, October 3, 2007

NEWS: President Bush Vetoes SCHIP Expansion Legislation

As predicted, President Bush vetoed the SCHIP expansion legislation today. The legislation passed by both the House and Senate last week included an appropriation of $35 billion. This expansion would enable States to insure children up to 300% of the Federal Poverty Level. The expansion would increase the number of children served from 6 million currently to 10 million. The Senate has enough votes to over ride the veto. The House’s ability to override a veto was still in question. During today’s White House Briefing, Mr. Ed Gillespie Counselor to the President, again stressed President Bush’s concern that the current legislation would cover a family of four earning $83,000 a year. 300% of the federal poverty level is $61,000. The $83,000 figure comes from a waiver request from the state of New York. The legislation will now move to the floor of the House and Senate. The Congress will move to either override or sustain the veto. The House has scheduled consideration of the veto for October 18th. The Arc of North Carolina will continue to follow the progress of this legislation.

Want to know more:
MSNBC has a great article detailing the battle between the states over SCHIP:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21066498/page/2/

White House Briefing: Press Gaggle with Ed Gillespie
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/20071003-4.html

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