Overcoming a Veto and Helping Children

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Unless President Bush backs away from his threat to veto a significant expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, it will be incumbent on all Republicans in the House who value health care over ideological warfare to summon the courage and vote to override him.

The Senate approved the legislation with enough votes to overcome a veto. It also passed the House with a hefty margin but fell 24 votes short of a veto-proof majority. Although it will be an uphill battle, it may still be possible to bring another two dozen House members to their senses.

Any Republicans courageous enough to defy the president on this issue will find themselves in good company. The measure, which would increase federal funding for the program by $35 billion over the next five years, is the product of intense bipartisan negotiations that included prominent Republicans in the Senate, led by Charles Grassley of Iowa and Orrin Hatch of Utah. It has been endorsed by governors from both parties and by a wide array of organizations, including the American Medical Association and the chief lobbying groups for private insurance plans and for senior citizens.

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Mr. Bush seems determined to use the children’s program to take a stand against what he calls “an incremental step toward the goal of government-run health care for every American.” He would rather sacrifice the health of uninsured children than yield an inch of ideological ground. House Republicans ought to take a more humane approach and override the president’s blinkered obstinacy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/opinion/29sat2.html?ref=opinion