My Challenge to the President

I want to make sure you see the latest video from Families USA, one of the most important advocates in the ongoing battle to protect children's health care.

Families USA is part of the broad, bipartisan effort that achieved a solid initial victory last week, when both the House and the Senate approved a bill extending and reforming the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Unfortunately, President Bush vetoed the bill.

Earlier this week, a group of children pulling little red wagons went to the gates of the White House to urge the President to sign the bill, because it's so vital to good health care for the nation's children in the years ahead. I hope very much that President Bush and Congress will hear and heed their plea.

Apparently this President's priorities aren't the same as mainstream America's:

He says the bill costs too much. But for the price of one day in Iraq, we could cover 256,000 children. One week would cover 1.8 million children. And just over one month of the Iraq war would cover the full cost of the bill and insure 10 million children for a whole year.

Because the current SCHIP program falls far short of meeting the need, hundreds of thousands of children have lost their coverage on President Bush's watch. It's incomprehensible that the President would threaten to veto legislation that corrects this serious problem.

There's one thing President Bush and I do have in common, though - American taxpayers cover 72% of our health care premiums, because current law has long-permitted good insurance coverage for federal employees.

So I ask President Bush and the Members in Congress who support his veto:

Would you deny your own family what you'll be denying to millions of other families if this bill is vetoed? If you don't believe the federal government should support children's health care, how can you in good conscience accept it for your own families?

All Members of Congress have the peace of mind that when their children are sick, they can afford to take them to the doctor. Why doesn't every American family deserve that peace of mind?

The President's veto will have terrible consequences - just look at the faces on the Families USA video. It's time everyone understood what those consequences are.

That's why so many of us in Congress - Republicans and Democrats alike - are fighting so hard for this bill, to keep the faith with the millions of children who are counting on us for the healthy start in life that every American deserves.

Comments

[twillercat]

Senator Kennedy, here's a novel idea.

How about cutting the funding for Iraq to fund SCHIP for the children?

Taxing smokers is unfair and cowardly..­.expecting a sitting duck minority to pick up the tab for SCHIP while telling us we can't sit in restaurants is adding insult to injury. Twenty per cent of the population smokes. The Democratic funding scheme is regressive and mean-spirited.

Go back to the drawing board. Fund SCHIP fairly. And quit targeting people who smoke.

[glitz]

If they truly want to get serious..l­et's fairly tax American Businesses who produce no products in America and maintain offshore addresses just to avoid taxes, let's fairly tax oil companies, let's fairly tax imports from China..on and on!!

[atelram]

And lets find out what cheney and Bush got for letting Ray Hunt (texas Oil)drill in northern Iraq.

[Oldchef]

Government is supposed to serve the people. What better way than to protect their health? Every poll on the subject that I have seen has the majority of people willing to pay higher taxes for the peace of mind of universal health care. If politicians are worried about the collapse of the insurance companies, why weren't they woried about the steel industry or the textile industry or the many others ruined by NAFTA? Let them go on unemployment like the rest of us who were down-sized.

[edgwynn]

The federal government does not exist to 'serve' the people. It exists to protect the people from foreign entities and to guard their basic human rights as defined by the US constitution. These rights do not include federal enntitlements - the people's heroin that keeps them hooked on government. Nobody is more ill-suited to administer health care than the federal government. If you think the cost is high now, just wait until universal health care kicks in - but that is what you get when you look to government to solve your problems.

[glitz]

All very nicely said, but this Administration has increased the size of government without providing services. They pick and choose what they want to control attempting to change the constituti­on..choice­, religion, freedom of speech, invasion of privacy, individual rights, due process, etc.
They apply the "rights do not include Federal entitlements" to the poor, but do not apply the same to themselves. Their medical and retirement packages are just a dream to any other working American. There are no jobs in America that provide the same benefits, no matter how long you work for whatever salary range.

[TerrapinStation]

edgwynn states "If you think the cost is high now, just wait until universal health care kicks in..."

This is such a typical right-wing scare tactic. The right lies to people and tells them universal health care costs more than we currently spend. The FACT is that we CURRENTLY spend more per person on health care than ANY country that has universal health care. We currently spend more on health care than any other country, period. THAT is the FACT.

But why should facts get in the way of the right wing making its argument? They never do.

[tlcutter]

What polls have you seen?

[Mike O.]

Please provide a cite for your "polls". I would like to know what the sample size was. What was the demographic.

10 out of 10 people claim that the current immigration laws are too strict (sample size: 10, demographic: illegal aliens)

[hopeless277]

Public financing of political campaigns is the only cure for the virus of money sickening our country. If the congress will not mandate public financing for ALL political campaigns, then anything else it does is tainted by corporate influence and money. How am I supposed to trust someone to represent me when they are receiving millions from corporations that profit from denying services that I have paid for? It's freeking insane.

[TerrapinStation]

Yes, hopeless277, I agree. If we don't get the corrupting power of money out of our government, it will never function properly to address ANY problem we face - health care, education, environment, etc. That's why my #1 campaign issue is accountability in government. We all must look to candidates who will champion that cause (if there are any).

[MuskieWI]

I work with Families USA and I want to encourage of all of you to join us in this very important fight. You can visit our web site at http://www.familiesusa.org/ to learn about how you can help. But for starters, you can:

1. Forward this post and this ad on to your friends and family members.

2. If you have a blog, write a post about this.

3. Tell everyone you know (in your office, your community, etc...) that this is bipartisan issue that affects millions of kids.

Let's get this ad up on TV, and let's get Congress to override this deplorable veto.

[Lucille]

CORRECTED VERSION:

George Bush is just plain evil as far as I'm concerned.

The democrates in congress have something like 74% of the American people behind them who want the war stopped, pretty much by any means necessary, but instead they fully fund it without including this childcare program in the bill, why not? The Republicans only vote for projects that include some of their programs all the time.

My family has loved the Kennedy family before I was born, and I don't specifically blame Senator Kennedy, but overall I think the Democrates are weak and ineffectual and I simply do not understand why? The lack of republicans votes to override the President, notwithstanding.

Are the Democrates playing us for fools, or are they simply so self serving, worrying about being re-elected (after the winds change), that they won't do the right thing, right now?

I'd certainly like to read a blog about that.

[The Impartial]

Lucille,
You haven't understood the running of the Government. 74% of Americans are behind the Democrats but that's not enough to buy votes. It's money that counts in elections. Look at the money from BIG CORPORATIONS, from lobbyists.­.. It's why even with a so-called majority, for the time being the Dems cannot do anything. It takes 60% to have a bill passed, and 2/3 of the votes (i.e. 67%) to overrun a veto. Keep blaming, but...with the majority they have + (plus) some from the Right is still not enough.

[Lucille]

To The Impartial,

I understand what your saying about the Congress and the Senate being bought, but the corporations can't replace individuals in the voting booth. If we don't vote for the worst offenders, then they can't sell us out to the corporations.

Maybe by showing the public how vastly corrupt they are they are actually doing us a favor, by stoping away all pretense.

If the Democratic Primary Election were today, I don't think I could vote for either Hillary or Obama, but rather one of the lesser known candidates which hopefull has not been "purchased" yet.

[Lucille]

George Bush is just plain evil as far as I'm concerned.

The democrates in congress have something like 74% of the American people behind them who want the war stopped, pretty much by any means necessary, but instead they fully fund it without including this childcare program in the bill, why not? The Republicans only vote for projects that include some of their programs all the time.

My family has loved the Kennedy family before I was born, and I don't specifically blame Senator Kennedy, but overall I think the Democrates are weak and ineffectual and I simply do not understand why? The lack of republicans votes to override the President, notwithstanding.

Are the Democrates playing us for fools, or are they simply so self serving, worrying about being re-elected when after winds change, that they won't do the right thing, right now?

I'd certainly like to read a blog about that.

[emerywood]

In face of such intransigence for so long, on the Iraq war especially, any opposition majority party in any Democracy would have considered resignation en-masse to protest. Not so for our Democratic party. They seemed to enjoy being the pawns of the Republicans who didn't give an inch on anything.

[Lucille]

The Democrats are just as corrupt as the Republicans and not worthy of our vote. I think we should all vote for the lesser candidates in the primaries, instead of the so called leaders, in hopes of nominating someone has a conscious.

[sdskelton03]

Those who support the veto can in good conscience accept the federal government paying a portion of thier health insurance because it is part of the compensation package for their job.

President Bush was right to veto the SCHIP bill passed by congress. It went far beyond what the program was designed to do. I read somewhere that it covers children of parents that make up to 40k a year in some cases.

Those parents can pay for their own kids insurance just like I do, and I don't make 40k per year.

[andyboy]

Your going to get a lump of coal for Christmas you old Scrooge.

Maybe if we weren't blowing $10 billion per month in Iraq we could afford the fraction that this will cost.

How immoral and evil must one be to hate his fellow man so much? Your a disgrace to everything America stands for.

President hasn't been right about ANYTHING since he took office. Anyone who can't see that has blinders on.

[sdskelton03]

Andy

You make a very good point about the money we are spending in Iraq. I certainly hope the region becomes freer, more tolerant and less of a threat to us in the future. However, that is a red herring that has nothing to do with the SCHIP program.

The SCHIP program was designed to cover the children of the poor, like the kids of the lady that works at Long John Silvers. I don't have a problem with that. I am pragmatic in my Libertarianism.

However, I feel no need to pay for the health care of the children of the manager of the Long John Silvers. He/she probably earns about 30 to 40k per year. He/she can buy his own childrens health insurance.

I am not sure why this makes me immoral and is a positive indicator that I hate my fellow man. Perhaps you can explain why opposing paying for middle class people's children's health care makes me evil?

[PaHairO]

" I read somewhere ... "

That's, uh, not going to cut it, babe ...

[sdskelton03]

Look, I have a job and a life. I don't have time to go around documenting everything I read or pick up on. I am no longer in college and see no reason to cite sources for everything I say.

[DrenchedOtter]

Go get 'em, Senator! All we need is about 20 more votes in the House. It would be a great day for both parties if they finally got up enough courage to override a Presidential veto.

[katiebird]

I first heard you speak on this issue back in 1978 at the Democratic Mid Term convention. I was convinced then that we would have health care for everyone in just a year or two.

A couple of dozen year-or-two's later, it's really no where in site.

Seriously, when is it going to happen?

[ThomasDoubting]

Rather than some convoluted system that only looks like what the rest of the world is doing, while keeping the insurance companies involved, how about a FREE, not-for-profit, single-payer health care system ...Dennis Kucinich for President.­.. Medicare for All!

[sdskelton03]

I don't want Medicare. I receive much better access to health care right now. Please don't take my coverage away and force me into medicare.

[drumz]

Yes yes yes. OUT WITH ALL INSURANCE COMPANIES

[edgwynn]

Oh yes, out with them and in with the government 'babysitte­rs.' The insurance companies, as much as we like to hate them, are a secondary effect of our medical tort problems which are perpetuated by the trial lawyers' lobby (should be called plaintiff lawyers' lobby) who could care less if they were suing a private insurance company or the federal government. And which party are the trial lawyers behind? So, elect the party that will help you ultimately sue yourself into oblivion - because it's your right.