S-CHIP Veto Override Fails; Regula Votes to Override; Fight Goes On

The House failed today, October 18, 2007, to override Bubble-Boy's veto of the S-CHIP bill. Congressman Ralph Regula, R-OH13, voted to override, as did another retiring GOP House member Deborah Pryce, R-OH15. Although the override was not successful, the fight will continue.

This is from an article that appeared on the Washington Post's website shortly after the override attempt failed:

Having stood with Bush against a bill that had overwhelming public support, GOP leaders urged Democrats to come to the table with a scaled-down version. But Democratic leaders were leaning toward a new version that would give Republicans face-saving alterations but no substantive change.

Pelosi said she was determined to provide the resources to ensure that 10 million more children would be added to the rolls.

Democratic leaders suggested they could add legislative language to nullify Republican lines of attack. They would clarify that the program would not cover families with incomes over 300 percent of the federal poverty level, about $60,000 for a family of four. And they would tighten language to ensure the children of illegal immigrants could not receive benefits.

Republicans sent signals that the gambit just might work, if not with the president then with balking House members. Much of their protests on the bill focused on allegations that a loophole in the bill could allow 174,000 non-citizens to gain benefits.

Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) suggested adding an eligibility cap on families with at least $1 million of family assets, a move that would have virtually no impact on the bill's cost. Four moderate Republicans sent Pelosi a letter outlining what they thought could win passage, including a cap at 300 percent of the poverty level, a phasing out of eligibility for some adults and an expressed prohibition on illegal immigrants.

"The modifications needed are relatively modest," said Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.).

And that is likely all the GOP will get. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, pointed out that House Democrats had given up plenty already, scaling back their far more ambitious bill to meet the demands of Senate Republicans, such as Orrin Hatch (Utah) and Charles E. Grassley (Iowa), who virtually dictated the final bill's parameters.

"We have gone 50 percent of the way," Rangel said. "You have no idea of the pain that [House Energy and Commerce] Chairman [John] Dingell, and I and Speaker Pelosi had when we were persuaded that it was either the bipartisan agreement of the Senate, or we wouldn't be able to get a bill on the floor. It was painful, and we lost votes, and we were charged with selling out."

Republicans will not relish the next round of the fight. Swing-district GOP lawmakers have already weathered a barrage of advertisements from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic allies, accusing them of forsaking the nation's children while standing by the president's war in Iraq.

It will be interesting to see how many GOP members will continue to stick with their radical, right-wing leadership and Bush and how many will decide that compromise is the best of all virtues. Our predication is that by the end of the year a bill will be passed over Bush's veto that is much closer to the Democratic version than to the Bush version.