No surprise here -- President Bush vetoed the bill which would have expanded the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) and provided millions of American children with health care coverage. Despite broad bipartisan support in Congress for the bill -- not to mention wide-ranging support from governors across the country, health care advocacy organizations, and the health insurance industry too -- Bush rejected the plan.
Here's how Barack responded to today's news:
It is outrageous that the President has decided to use his fourth veto to deny health care to four million American children. At a time when we’re spending billions of dollars on a war that should never have been authorized and giving billions in tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, today’s veto of this bipartisan plan shows a callousness of priorities that is offensive to the ideals we hold as Americans. But George Bush doesn’t have the last word, and I will keep fighting for the Republican votes needed to override his veto..As the wealthiest nation on earth, there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to cover every child. As President, I’ll sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term that will cover every American, and cut costs more dramatically than any other plan offered by a candidate in this race. And I’ll do it by bringing Republicans and Democrats together – like I did when I was in the Illinois state Senate, when I helped expand health care for an additional 150,000 children and their parents.If there’s one thing all of us should be able to agree on, no matter what our political views, it’s that our children should get the treatment they need when they need it. And when I’m president, they will.
Barack has a history of fighting for health care coverage for our children. As a State Senator, he sponsored and helped pass legislation that expanded and made permanent Illinois KidCare program by raising eligibility from 185% to 200% of the federal poverty level. The legislation provided coverage for an additional 20,000 children and 65,000 more Illinois adults in the first year, and by 2007 had expanded health care to 70,000 kids and 84,000 adults.
Click here to read more about Barack's plan to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable health care coverage.
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