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Oct. 18, 2007 -- The House failed to override President Bush’s veto of children’s health insurance legislation Thursday, setting up more battles on the issue.
A two-thirds majority is required to override a presidential veto. Supporters needed 288 votes to get around the president, but the move failed on a 273-156 vote.
Democrats pledged to quickly pass new legislation aimed at expanding children’s health care.
“It is our intention to put a bill on the president’s desk within two weeks,” said House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Thursday’s bill used a 61-cent-per-pack increase in cigarette taxes to fund a $35 billion expansion in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The program was started in 1997 to provide medical coverage to low-income kids.
The bill would add health coverage for 4 million new children in addition to the 6 million already covered by the plan.
A new bill from Democrats could take the form of a compromise with the White House. President Bush based his veto on the argument that the bill offers government coverage to too many higher-income families and that it could cause parents who can afford private plans to use taxpayer-funded ones instead.
“Today, members of Congress saw the wisdom in putting children from low-income families at the front of the SCHIP line, giving another chance to get this right,” Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said in a statement.
But Congressional Democrats, enjoying broad support from the public and from many Republicans, have said they see little room for compromise with Bush.
“The president is alone on this,” Pelosi said.
She suggested Thursday that Democrats would try to adjust their current bill in an attempt to win over as few as 10 House Republicans. Doing so would likely give the bill a veto-proof majority.
The bill already has enough support in the Senate to override the president. “We’ve squeezed all the compromise out of this we can,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said.
Asked if Democrats would negotiate with the White House, Reid said, “No, no, no.”