The S-CHIP Veto Push Back Begins

PRESIDENT BUSH AFTER S-CHIP VETO

Within hours after George Bush signed the fourth veto of his presidency, rejecting a compromise bipartisan bill expanding the popular State Childrens' Health Insurance Program, Democrats and advocacy groups began pushing back.

With enough votes in the Senate to override a veto, S-CHIP supporters turned their attention to House Republicans who voted against the bill and may be vulnerable in next year's election.

Because of the popularity of S-CHIP -- which is a block-grant and not an entitlement program -- the bill is an opportunity for Republicans to oppose the president without facing the kind of political blowback that might accrue from, say, voting against the Iraq war.

House Democrats are about 20 votes short of a veto-proof majority, which means that at least 10 Republicans -- if not more -- would have to change their nay votes. There are early indications that some GOP congressfolk are considering doing just that.

After vetoing the bill on Wednesday, the president said he was open to compromising with Congress by spending more money on the program than his budget proposed, but did not make a specific offer about how far he would go to meet the $35 billion expansion in a program passed with substantial Republican support.

Democrats and some Republicans responded that they will try to overturn the veto before entertaining any deal on S-CHIP, which was created 10 years ago for families that make too much money to be covered by Medicaid but too little to afford insurance on their own.

Veto override votes have been put off for two weeks while unions and and other activists run TV ads condemning Republicans who sided with Bush.

Said Nathan Gonzalez, political editor of the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report:

"You never want to be portrayed as against children and against health care. It certainly could come back to haunt the Republicans."

In New Jersey, where S-CHIP has been extremely popular through Democratic and Republican state administrations alike, the ads will target recalcitrant Republicans, including Representatives Rodney Frelinghuysen, Scott Garrett and James Saxton. There were unconfirmed reports that Saxton was considering changing his vote.

More here.

Photograph by The Associated Press