GOP fails to limit children's health program

Associated Press ^ | January 28, 2009 | Kevin Freking

[Zakeet]

Senate Republicans fell short Wednesday in their effort to curtail the expansion of a government health insurance program for lower-income children.

The Senate rejected the Republican proposal by a resounding 65-32 vote. Democratic lawmakers say the GOP's legislation didn't go far enough, covering only about 2 million uninsured children, or roughly half the number that Democrats' seek to cover.

The Senate is considering this week the renewal of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The program is a state-federal partnership that provides government-sponsored health insurance to children of the working poor.

Democrats want to more than double spending on SCHIP. President Barack Obama has urged Congress to quickly send him a children's health bill that he can sign into law. The House has already passed a bill comparable to the one before the Senate.

Republicans offered an alternative approach through an amendment sponsored by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. McConnell argued that his amendment focused more on helping low-income families and did not rely on tax increases to pay for the additional health spending. His amendment also would not allow federal funding to extend health coverage to children of newly arrived legal immigrants, as the Democratic bill allows.

[Snip]

Democrats also defeated an amendment from Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., that would have prohibited federal funding for health coverage of children in families with incomes exceeding $65,000, or the median state income. The amendment was defeated 60-36.

[truthfreedom]

I buy tobacco for $13.00 a pound, currently.
This raises my price from $13 to $36.

I am very pissed.

I thought that Obama wasn’t going to raise taxes for those making under $250K.

[Canedawg]

“Senate Republicans fell short Wednesday in their effort to curtail the expansion of a government health insurance program for lower-income children.”

I HATE THE MEDIA

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Republicans offered an alternative approach through an amendment sponsored by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Look, the days of compromising only to see the goal posts moved to the left some more are over. McConnell - fight to abolish the thing in its entirety, there is no money to pay for this crap.