Yesterday, it was no surprise that President Bush vetoed the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Although millions of kids are now at risk of losing coverage, Bush had announced his intentions months before, and if I know one thing for certain, this president doesn't like to change his mind very often.
Instead, what surprised me most was that he chose Lancaster, Pennsylvania as the place from which to tell the country about his decision.
As someone who has relatives in Lancaster and who lives about an hour away, I know it well. Lancaster, for those who aren't so familiar, is town of working families. It may be situated in the heart of beautiful Amish country, but it is not immune to the harsh economic realities facing so many communities across the country.
So when President Bush started his speech with a joke about how he had plenty of time to answer questions, I couldn't help but think of the 36,000 children in Lancaster County who rely on S-CHIP or Medicaid for health insurance. They are the ones running out of time.
When President Bush said that the proposed S-CHIP eligibility levels were too high, I couldn't help but think of my relatives in Lancaster and many other families who caught in the middle of making too much for Medicaid but not enough for private insurance. They are the ones who are being "crowded out."
And when President Bush concluded his comments by saying that he has had "a joyous experience being the president," I couldn't help but think of the nine million uninsured children in Lancaster and across the country who were counting on Bush, even praying for him, to sign the S-CHIP bill. Today, they are the ones who have no reason to be joyful.
I've written many times before to highlight the facts and figures about the false rhetoric of the Bush administration and about how we can design a better S-CHIP program to meet the needs of working families, but today it gets personal. It's about my community, my state, and my country.
Please click here to tell Lancaster's representative, Joe Pitts, to change his vote and to start putting Lancaster's children first.