September 28, 2007

Senate OKs SCHIP; Post-Veto Strategies Kick In

The Senate's 67-29 vote yesterday on a bill to add $35 billion to the State Children's Health Insurance Program will officially allow it to be lobbed down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, only to have it bounce back with a veto stamp.

But that volley will probably wait until next week. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Congress might hold onto the bill over the weekend. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said yesterday that President Bush will veto the bill with little fanfare once he receives it.

Depending on the timing of those two actions, Hoyer said the House could hold a veto override vote later in the week. The Senate's 67 yes votes are enough to stave off a veto, but the House's 265-159 vote on Wednesday fell short of a veto-proof margin.

Hoyer hopes whipping efforts on both sides of the Capitol drum up enough Republican votes to reach the two-thirds majority in each chamber needed to reverse the expected veto.

Some of the eight House Democrats who voted against the bill Tuesday could be among those that vote to override, Hoyer said. Even with a few vote switchers among Democrats, House Republicans are confident that they will be able to sustain the veto.

If the veto is sustained, Fratto said he hopes the next step will be conversations about the "philosophical differences" between the administration and the SCHIP bill's supporters. "The money isn't the issue. It's the view of what the role of government has to be in health care."

If they occur, those conversations will be difficult, given the furor building among children's advocates against opponents of the bill.

Families USA President Ron Pollack said his group plans to publicize "no" votes to voters in swing districts.

"It is our expectation, at some point, that members who voted against the SCHIP bill will want to take a different course," Pollack said. "Anyone who wants to walk the political plank can do so on their own."

-Fawn Johnson, CongressDaily

Posted at 7:50 AM
Posted to: Bush Administration, Congress, House, President Bush, Senate
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