In CQ Politics article Supporters Plan Lobbying Blitz to Override Veto of Child Health Care Bill, we read the President's rationale:
“The intent of the program was to focus on poor children, not adults or families earning up to $83,000 a year,” Bush said. “It is estimated that if this program were to become law, one out of every three person that would subscribe to the new, expanded SCHIP would leave private insurance.”
What CQ Politics tells us next--and what Bush is leaving out (emphasis added):
But under current law, only the president can authorize states to use SCHIP to cover families earning $83,000, and Bush has declined to do so. The bill he vetoed would not change that procedure, and would discourage states from expanding SCHIP to families making three times the federal poverty level or more — $61,950 for a family of four.
Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said, “Let us be clear about what this veto means. The president is saying that millions of low-income, uninsured American children must continue to live with no health coverage while he presses his ideological concerns. He is willing to put the health of children in jeopardy just to get his way.”
Bush also has an unspoken reason for vetoing the bill, lawmakers say: Congress has not considered his health proposals, including new tax breaks to help families without employer-provided health insurance buy coverage on the open market. Democrats say the proposal, which Bush mentioned during his Lancaster speech, is impractical and too costly, and would help wealthy families more than others.
The Austin Daily News editorial board says in Veto presents fiscal, political quandaries:
President Bush picked the wrong time to try to create an image for himself of fiscal responsibility.
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