House Passes Revised SCHIP
October 29, 2007
House Passes Revised SCHIP
The U.S. House of Representatives Thursday passed a revised version of a bill to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), but changes made in the legislation after President Bush vetoed an earlier bill were not believed to be enough to overcome an expected second veto. The new bill, H.R. 3963, limits eligibility for SCHIP to children from families making no more than 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or approximately $62,000 for a family of four. It also bars illegal alien children from benefits, and would not allow states to cover childless adults. Those were among the changes asked for by Bush, but the bill still includes two of the President’s major objections—a $35 billion increase in funding for SCHIP over the next five years, and an increase in the federal tax on tobacco products—and those differences are expected to spark a veto once the bill passes the Senate and then comes to the President’s desk. Vote on the new bill in the House was 265 to 142, short of the two-thirds majority that would be needed to overcome a veto. If H.R. 3963 is not amended in the Senate to meet the President’s objections, and if Bush does veto the new measure, House leaders say they may extend the existing SCHIP program through next spring, with action on a new bill possible just before the November elections, when the issue of child health is expected to resonate with voters.