House approves revised SCHIP bill

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The Democrat-controlled House yesterday passed a revised proposal to expand a health care plan for low-income children — a week after the chamber failed to override a veto of a nearly identical bill.

Legislators voted 265-142 to more than double spending for the popular State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), but fell shy of support needed to protect the bill from a veto threat reissued by the White House.

House Democratic leaders said it was important to bring the bill to the floor this week in order to renew the program before the Thanksgiving recess next month.

"We're holding the vote today because it fits into our legislative calendar," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat. "We're certainly not leaving here [for recess] without having this issue resolved."

The Bush administration says the bill doesn't provide enough assurances that the poorest children eligible will be covered first and provides insufficient safeguards to assure that money won't be spent on people who are ineligible, including illegal aliens.

The new version still calls for an additional $35 billion for SCHIP for the next five years — $30 billion more than Mr. Bush requested — and a 61-cent tax increase on a pack of cigarettes to help fund the program's expansion.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, said the revisions represent a legitimate effort to address concerns raised by Republicans.

"These are significant, concrete changes — changes that neither affect nor undermine our principal objective and commitment to insure more than 10 million American children," Mr. Hoyer said.

The revised bill caps benefits to families earning no more than three times the federal poverty rate — about $62,000 for a family of four. Provisions for low-income childless adults, who are covered in some states, would be phased out in one year.

States would have to adhere to stricter guidelines in checking the validity of applicants' Social Security numbers in an effort to exclude illegal aliens.

Republican leaders called the changes "window dressing" and complained that the bill was introduced less than 24 hours before the vote, giving them insufficient time for review.

"If it's such a great bill, why not let the members [have time to] read it?" said House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican.

"It shows [Democrats] are ashamed of the bill they brought to the floor and that they just want to play politics with [SCHIP]."

About 6 million children and 600,000 adults receive SCHIP benefits, which are aimed at families that do not qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford medical insurance.

Democrats want to add about 4 million children to the program's rolls by increasing its cost to $60 billion.

Republicans also complained that the vote was taken while several California House members were in their home districts dealing with severe wildfires in the state.

Forty-three Republicans supported the measure, and one Democrat voted against it.

The bill is expected to pass with a veto-proof majority in a Senate vote likely next week.