Several weeks ago, we urged Congress to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program despite threats from the White House that President Bush would veto it.
Well, Congress did renew the program that provides health insurance for 10 million uninsured children. And, sure enough, the president vetoed it. Now the measure is back at the Capitol as SCHIP supporters seek the votes to override the veto.
The legislation would increase spending for SCHIP by $35 billion over five years. Bush has called for a $5 billion increase. An override requires a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate. The Senate approved the increase by a veto-proof margin, but the House vote fell about two dozen votes short.
Sadly, not even Democrats are predicting they will amass the votes needed to override Bush's veto.
With a House vote scheduled for Thursday, we urge representatives who oppose the measure to reconsider their positions and support the added funding for the program, which provides health insurance to children in families with incomes too great for Medicaid eligibility but not enough to afford private insurance.
According to Dr. Henry Schaeffer, chairman of the Academy of Pediatrics, District II, in New York state, children without access to high-quality health care are often the children who have difficulty in, or miss, school because of undiagnosed or untreated illness.
``Denying children access to health care is denying them the opportunity to grow up to be the healthiest, most productive adults that they can be,'' he said.
And Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, pointed out that nearly 1,300 children in Otsego County were affected by New York's version of SCHIP, Child Health Plus.
"As a father,'' Arcuri said, ``I know the worry parents face when a child gets sick and how critical health insurance is to ensure preventative care. By expanding health care to uninsured children in New York, we can improve access to preventative care, decreasing trips to the emergency room and costly, more severe illnesses down the road."
Despite such reasoned arguments, tallies on Tuesday indicated SCHIP supporters may not be able to garner the votes they need. When the president played the ``socialized medicine'' card when announcing his veto, many Republicans were scared off from changing their positions.
If, indeed, that is the case, then we have to urge both sides to be flexible in negotiations so a compromise agreement can be reached that both renews and adds money to a program so important to our nation's working poor.
The last thing we need is to have the program held hostage to a political battle lacking the give-and-take necessary for a compromise acceptable to both sides.
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