First thing this morning, just to get the day started off on the right foot, the President fulfilled his promise (after all, he's a man of his word) to veto the S-CHIP reauthorization. This comes on the heels of Bush declaring his No Child Left Behind (with his now famous words, "childrens do learn") and a request for more funding for the war in Iraq.
Right now Democrats are delaying the override vote in the House until October 17, presumably to give plenty of time for pressure to be applied to the approximately 15 House Republicans that are needed for the override. It's probably a long shot, but it's worth a try, I think. Any negotiations with the White House will only reduce the amount of funding and leave more children "behind."
PR Newswire has this statement from Lawrence A. McAndrews, CEO of National Assocation of Children's Hospitals -
"This veto is a major disappointment to families with children enrolled in SCHIP and the millions of other families who could have been helped by the reauthorization bill," said McAndrews. "The veto sends a clear message that children's health coverage is not the president's priority."
Read the rest of the statement, entitled 'President's Veto of SCHIP Bill Rooted in Misinformation'.
Watch video, below, of the President talking about his veto to a group of business leaders in Lancaster, PA.
I too posted today on this most recent executive demonstration of appallingly inverted moral priorities. What is Adventist orthodoxy worth if we remain passive in the face of social injustice? Thanks for speaking out!
Posted by: Ken McFarland | October 03, 2007 at 12:23 PM
We've got video of Jim Wallis noting that with this veto, Bush has killed compassionate conservatism.
http://blog.faithinpubliclife.org/2007/10/childrens_health_vetoed_1.html
Damn tobacco and private insurance companies, the lobbies that bought that veto.
Posted by: Alexander | October 03, 2007 at 11:07 PM