Black lawmakers accused President Bush of being shortsighted and out of touch with Americans, after President Bush, in sharp confrontation with Congress, recently vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have dramatically expanded children's health insurance.

Peter C. Groff, a Colorado state senator, publisher of Blackpolicy.org and executive director of the Center for African-American Policy at the University of Denver, said Bush’s veto could have long term consequences.

"Since President Bush has drawn a line in the political sand, he picks a fight with Congress on a key issue that may very well color next year elections," Groff told BlackAmericaWeb.com Thursday.

"It seems a curious fight to pick with a bill having solid bipartisan support, but it appears to give congressional conservatives and GOP presidential something to rally around," Groff said. "That's a curious perception, considering recent polls show 60 percent of Republican voters opposed Bush's veto."

"The Democrats should try and override the veto, because its the right thing to do, and the political upside rests with the attempt," Groff added. "Democrats could use this as their common ground issue to not only unify their diverse base, but also draw in other voting blocs as well."

CALL TO ACTION: Listen to Tavis Smiley discuss the SCHIP program...

TAKE ACTION BEFORE FRIDAY OCTOBER 19, 2007

You have until Friday, October 19, 2007 to contact your representative to attempt to overturn President Bush's veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Call 1-800-861-5343 connect to the District Offices of Members of Congress

Steve Chabot – OH - 45202
Thelma Drake – VA – 23462
Tom Feeney – FL – 32826
Sam Graves – MO – 64068
Joe Knollenberg – MI 48334
Randy Kuhl – NY – 14810
Jim Saxton – NJ - 08753
Tim Walberg – MI - 49202

The State Children's Health Insurance Program is a joint state-federal effort that subsidizes health coverage for 6.6 million people, mostly children, from families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford their own private coverage.

The Democrats who control Congress, with significant support from Republicans, passed the legislation to add $35 billion over five years to allow an additional 4 million children into the program. It would be funded by raising the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents to $1 per pack.

The president had promised to veto it, saying the Democratic bill was too costly, took the program too far from its original intent of helping the poor, and would entice people now covered in the private sector to switch to government coverage. He wants only a $5 billion increase in funding.

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Bush has again let down American families.

"Once again, President Bush has put his ideology ahead of the will and the well-being of the American people," Conyers said in a statement.

"This president is so afraid that the concept of guaranteed health care for all will gain more support with the public that he has rejected health care coverage for our nation’s most vulnerable children," Conyers said.

"President Bush’s ideology has failed to provide health coverage for our nation’s children in the past, and there is no evidence whatsoever that it will do so in the future," he added. "That is why the Congress will not allow this president’s ideology to trump the health and well-being of our children. We will override this shameful veto and guarantee that all America’s children have access to the health care they need."

It was only the fourth veto of Bush's presidency, and one that some Republicans feared could carry steep risks for their party in next year's elections. The Senate approved the bill with enough votes to override the veto, but the margin in the House fell short of the required number.

"Unfortunately, President Bush has once again chosen to put special interests over the public’s best interests with his veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program," Rep. Hank Johnson said in a statement. "Congress must override this veto and re-authorize the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act. We can afford it and our children need and deserve it. "

According to Johnson, a Georgia mandate requires that a dentist be located within a 30-mile radius of the patient in an urban area and a 45-mile radius in a rural area. Johnson said this means that a statewide network of only 20 dentists could meet these requirements and that would clearly be inadequate.

"Within five miles of Lithonia, only nine dentists were reached that had appointments available for new patients within the next two weeks," Johnson said in a letter to Georgia Gov. Sonny Purdue. "Within a 10 mile radius of Lithonia, less than half of the Peach State’s 166 providers in its network were reachable and accepting new patients."

Meanwhile, Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Bush is putting his politics ahead of what's good for America.

"It's appalling that President Bush and his Republicans will spend billions of dollars in Iraq, some of it on contractors like Blackwater and Haliburton, while denying millions of children needed doctors' visits or medicine here at home," Dean said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), decried Bush's action as a "heartless veto."

"Never has it been clearer how detached President Bush is from the priorities of the American people," Reid said in a statement. "By vetoing a bipartisan bill to renew the successful Children's Health Insurance Program, President Bush is denying health care to millions of low-income kids in America. "

Karen Tumulty wrote in Time last month that "When Republicans try to prove their conservative bona fides by taking on a program aimed for children, the outcome is usually the same. Remember the Reagan Administration trying to declare ketchup as a vegetable?  And the House Republicans deciding to 'curb the growth' of the school lunch program in 1995?

"That's why I'm mystified as to why President Bush is standing behind his veto threat on legislation that would expand SCHIP, the state health insurance program for children," Tumulty wrote.

"After House and Senate negotiators reached a compromise, Bush faces opposition not only from Democrats but Republicans on Capitol Hill -- enough, sources tell my colleague Jay Newton-Small, to override a veto," she wrote. "Given how averse this president has been to using his veto pen, he is under pressure from conservatives to take a stand. But this one strikes me as a fight he is going to lose, and one that will haunt his party right through 2008."

Bush argued that the congressional plan would be a move toward socialized medicine by expanding the program to higher-income families.

Democrats deny that, saying their goal is to cover more of the millions of uninsured children and noting that the bill provides financial incentives for states to cover their lowest-income children first. Of the over 43 million people nationwide who lack health insurance, over 6 million are under 18 years old. That's over 9 percent of all children.

Eighteen Republicans joined Democrats in the Senate, enough to override Bush's veto. But this was not the case in the House, where despite sizable Republican support, supporters of the bill are about two dozen votes short of a successful override.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Democrats were imploring 15 House Republicans to switch positions but had received no agreements so far.

House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said he was "absolutely confident" that the House would be able to sustain Bush's expected veto.

Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said Congress should be able to reach a compromise with Bush now that he's vetoes the bill. "We should not allow it to be expanded to higher and higher income levels, and to adults. This is about poor children," he said. "But we can work it out."

It took Bush six years to veto his first bill, when he blocked expanded federal research using embryonic stem cells last summer. In May, he vetoed a spending bill that would have required troop withdrawals from Iraq. In June, he vetoed another bill to ease restraints on federally funded stem cell research.

In the case of the health insurance program, the veto is a bit of a high-stakes gambit for Bush, pitting him against both the Democrats who have controlled both houses of Congress since January, but also many members of his own party and the public.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched radio ads Monday attacking eight GOP House members who voted against the bill and face potentially tough re-election campaigns next year.

And Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, said a coalition of liberal groups planned more than 200 events throughout the nation to highlight the issue.