Avoiding the usual fanfare surrounding his previous three “vetoes” the Decider decided today to veto the SCHIP bill behind closed doors. In doing so he put fellow Republicans in the “line of ire” of voters who are overwhelmingly in favor of passage of the bill.  In fact, several polls, conducted by nonpartisan entities, show that Americans want to cut funding for the war and increase spending on children’s health.

Providing the numbers in the Senate hold, there are sufficient votes to override the veto.  Orrin Hatch  (R ) Utah, a participant in drafting of the bill, states openly that he believes Bush has received poor advice, and encourages the House Republicans to vote for override.  Senator Grassley of Iowa is equally forceful in his support of the bill. Amazingly, Kit Bond voted in favor of the bill and we hope he remains steadfast.  The problem lies in the House and Speaker Pelosi has wisely tabled the vote on the veto for two weeks. She is going to go after the 25 votes needed in the House for veto override.  Hooray Nancy!

Political ops are already underway.  The DNCC launched radio ads yesterday targeting eight Republican house members who voted against the bill and who face tough reelection campaigns in ’08.  One of these eight is none other than Missouri’s own, Sam Graves. Other naysayers in Missouri are Todd Akin, Roy Blunt and Kenny Hulsof.
  An emergency rally has been announced for Thursday October 4 at 4:00 pm at the office of Kit Bond located at Hanley and Bonhomme in Clayton.  Just to keep him pure by reminding him that it is his turn in 08. 

As for The Decider, well he says he is open to compromise.  Yes, we have heard that before.  The Talking Point being offered seems to be the enforcement of the regulation from CMS that would require states to enroll at least 95% of children with family incomes below 200% of the poverty level before enrolling any other children.  This regulation is particularly difficult to enforce, as it is nearly impossible for states to even identify all eligible recipients, much less pull them in for services.  Carefully tied in will be the poverty level issue and the fact that some states have Federal waviers to fund children who come from families whose income is more than 200% of poverty level.  Missouri has been funded at 300% in the past.

In the meantime, it is Kit Bond’s office Thursday, Oct 4 at 6:00 pm and for those of you who vote in his district and others, Sam Graves is the man to see.  Akin, Blunt and Hulsof might also benefit from candid discussions with their constituents and all the rest of us on the issue of SCHIP.

( – promoted by Clark)

In June of this year the MO Budget Project announced that approval of the SCHIP legislation would mean almost $1 billion in matching federal funds for MO.  Well, that estimate was based on the rosiest proposal on the board, which was the House version of the legislation.  That version called for an increase in SCHIP of $50 billion.  The compromise bill that will be sent to The Decider for approval limits the SCHIP funding increase to $35 billion, which means that Missouri’s share will be less than $1 billion and closer to $700 million depending on the variables.  This is still a tidy sum for Missouri health care recipients.  It is a also lovely chunk for the State of Missouri to have circulating through their economic streams. 

Funding to provide health care for low income children leverages state monies with a match from the feds.  SCHIP (known as MC+ in Missouri) is a good deal for Missouri because for every dollar that Missouri spends in the SCHIP program, the state receives $2.72 in Federal matching funds. That is 40% more than the  $1.60 in matching funds received  for every dollar spent on Medicaid.  MC+ currently covers approximately 107,000 low income children in our state. According to US census figures of August 07, another 127,000 children in MO remain uninsured.

More than 6.6 million children were covered by SCHIP nationally during the past year.  According the recent census, about 9 million American children lack health insurance. The number of uninsured children continues to rise because of the growing lack of federal matching funds

Governor Blunt has not seen fit to join the 30 or so governors that have called upon The Decider to support the SCHIP legislation. If our new Medicaid plan in Missouri is any indication, it is pretty clear that Blunt loves the insurance lobby.  Still we wish that he would go ahead and tell The Decider to sign the bill because to do so is good for Missouri and for Missouri’s children. Or…who knows.  Maybe he could tell Bush to sign it just because it is the right thing to do.

An interesting postscript.  Both Bond and Claire signed a letter to The Decider earliler in the month petitioning  him to remove the new August regulations imposed on SCHIP by the Department of Medicare and Medicaid Services.  So we seem to have McCaskill on board, but more interestingly we may have Kit on board as well, for a vote of override.

Of course, GWB is threatening to veto the compromise legislation to provide reauthorization and expansion of SCHIP. (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) 
And of course he is setting the stage to pin the rose of infamy on the Democratic Congress.  The big question is whether the Democrats are agile enough to sidestep the Bush bushwhack and lay the responsibility back at the Decider’s own feet. 

With authorization for the current program due to expire on September 30, Bush, while promising to veto the compromise legislation, is calling for Congress to extend the current SCHIP legislation or otherwise it will be Congress’ fault that millions of children will lose health coverage until an agreement is reached. (the Dems capitulate) An extension of the program would literally kick kids out of doctor’s offices all over the country because the current funding is insufficient to maintain the present participation numbers.  Even the $5 billion increase over the next five years that the Decider will endorse will not cover the present number of children in the program. Some will have to go. 

This from Bush:

He said that while he and Congress work out the issues with the reauthorization, Congress “has an obligation to make sure health insurance for poor children does not lapse” (Schor, The Hill, 9/21). Bush said that if Democrats do not pass an extension of the program, “more than a million children could lose health coverage,” and “coverage for these children should not be held hostage while political ads are being made and new polls are being taken” (Freking, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/21).

Bush said, “Instead of working with the administration to enact this funding increase for children’s health, Democrats in Congress have decided to pass a bill that they know will be vetoed” (Chicago Tribune, 9/21). He added, “Members of Congress are putting health coverage for poor children at risk so they score political points in Washington” (USA Today, 9/21).

Why is the Decider so sure he must veto the legislation before even studying it, without contemplating the consequences?  He claims that it is because it is a step toward the federalization of health care but what he doesn’t say is that it is because it might represent a step away from the deep pockets of insurance corporations. 

More from Bush;

“Democratic leaders in Congress want to put more power in the hands of government by expanding federal health care programs,” adding, “I have a different view. I believe the best approach is to put more power in the hands of individuals by empowering people and their doctors to make health care decisions that are right for them.”

So it is time for Congressional Democrats to step up. It is time for Harry Reid to do more than make a bland statement to the effect that “we did everything we could”.
He must actively campaign within the Senate to ensure Republican as well as Democratic support, enough support to override a veto.  Democrats and some Republicans who have worked hard for this compromise bill are up in arms at the Presidential Attitude.  Republicans are also concerned about the potential political fallout from voting against health insurance for kids. As Rahm Emanuel states, “Health care on the domestic side is what Iraq is on the foreign policy side. It is a top issue.  When you veto it, you own it”.

Look for the House Democrats to compromise on SCHIP to more closely follow the Senate Bill.  Although many House Democrats are unhappy with the compromise bill, negotiated primarily by Nancy Pelosi, they are unlikely to vote against it. The compromise bill will increase the funding $35 billion over the next five years, bringing the total to $60 billion, which will be funded by an increase to 61cents per pack on cigarettes.

The compromise bill will likely waive some of the new rules announced by the Bush administration last month, but it will likely not eliminate all of them.  One rule, particularly difficult to achieve, would require states to enroll at least 95% of children with family incomes below 200% of the poverty level.  Identification of 95% of these children is almost impossible, not to mention, actually enrolling them in the program.  The latest information is that the bill will affirm states rights to decide who qualifies for enrollment to the program based on poverty level percentages.

House Republicans are starting to splinter.  Even with the compromise, a veto override sufficiency is not expected.

This from the White House

Administration Response
Office of Management and Budget Director Jim Nussle on Monday in an interview said he will not compromise on Bush’s SCHIP spending limit, CongressDaily reports. Nussle said, “The president has made it very clear …. he sets the top-line number, and he’s going to hold to it,” adding, “I don’t feel as if I need to reinterpret what the president said” (Cohn, CongressDaily, 9/18). Bush has proposed a $5 billion increase over five years for SCHIP, which would raise the program’s total five-year funding to $30 billion. Bush has said he would veto the House and Senate bills (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/6).

Nussle said that Democrats are “choosing political strategy over kids … they can’t get their work done, so they’re going to send up something that they know is veto bait,” adding, “Everyone knows that; it’s been as telegraphed as just about anything around here” (CongressDaily, 9/18). White House spokesperson Tony Fratto said that SCHIP “should be focused on children in poor households,” adding, “We should not be creating policy that substitutes a government-run program for private health insurance”

And the latest report is that 30 Governors signed a letter sent September 17 to Secretary of Health & Human Services Michael Leavitt to rescind the new CMS requirements. Governor Blunt did not sign the letter. The new rules will result in children losing SCHIP coverage.

  44 US Senators — including McCaskill and Bond — have signed a letter to President Bush to withdraw the new CMS requirements.

Also forgot to add earlier. the current SCHIP program is due to expire on September 30 leaving vulnerable children without health coverage.  Talk about fiddling while Rome burns.