Bush: Ready to Kill Health Insurance Expansion for Children

By Brigitte L. Nacos
It is shocking enough to learn of a delay in the cancer treatment of an insufficiently insured young woman, as I did this morning, but it is even more incomprehensible to hear the President of the United States threaten to veto a congressional initiative to expand a children’s health insurance program for families whose income is too high to qualify for Medicaid and too low to buy their own health insurance. Bush told the American people, "Members of Congress are risking health coverage for poor children purely to make a political point." To call his statement merely spin, would be an understatement. According to the Washington Post, “A bipartisan group of lawmakers announced a proposal Friday that would add $35 billion over five years to the program, adding 4 million people to the 6.6 million already participating. It would be financed by raising the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents to $1 per pack.” In his response to Mr. Bush’s remarks, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, said that without the funding fifteen states would run out of money for this program by the end of September. So, who is risking health coverage for poor children? Democrats and Republicans in Congress who want to finance the program or the President who says he will veto such funds. 

President Bush and his supporters, including the viable contenders for his party’s presidential nomination, remain gung-ho when it comes to the Iraq War and the astronomical funds it requires. The National Priorities Project tracks the costs of the Iraq War and the ticker on the organization’s web site shows right now $453,8 billion since the beginning of the invasion—by the time you read this blog probably more than $454 billion. Take a look at the National Priorities Project’s web site to get an idea how many health insurances for children these hundreds of billions could buy!

The good news is that the Democratic contenders for their party’s presidential nomination agree to tackle the intolerable fact that more than 45 million Americans do not have health insurance, if they become president. Reason enough for opponents to once again play their propaganda game and throw around the nonsensical term “socialized medicine” to kill universal health insurance.

P.S. Tonight, the New York Times reports on its web site, "The Bush administration plans to increase its 2008 financing  request for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere by almost $50 billion, with about a quarter of the additional money going toward armored trucks built to withstand roadside bombs, Pentagon officials said Saturday. The increase would bring the amount the administration is seeking to finance the war effort through 2008 to almost $200 billion."

But $35 billion cannot be found to provide health insurance and adequate health care to American children for the next five years!? 

Comments

[Tony Facade]

we could avoid the dangers of roadside bombs by leaving the area.
but if we spend 12 bil on up-armored vehicles, what's to keep the bomb-builders from building bigger bombs? then we request more money for more armor, etc. at least our fuel costs are (presumably) dropping.

[RhiseePet]

Good for people to know.

[Mavis]

Interesting to know.