For the Love of Children!

Millions of children in California have subsidized health insurance through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. SCHIP was created in 1997 to reduce the number of uninsured children in the U.S., and its expansion this fall would have extended coverage to an additional ten million children living in low-income families without insurance. On October 3rd, President Bush vetoed the expansion of the program—despite the fact that that an overwhelming majority of Americans support it (81%, according to a recent CBS News poll), and even though the average annual cost of the expansion was less than three weeks of federal spending for the War in Iraq. And where did elected officials from California fall on the issue? All California House members voted to override Bush’s veto, plus Rep. Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs).

Here’s the kicker—Bush claimed that the expansion would signal a slippery slope toward “socialized medicine”—in reality, the same kind of government-funded healthcare that members of Congress enjoy!