Rep. Fossella Votes to Override Bush's Veto of Bill to Expand Children's Health Insurance

Rep. Fossella Votes to Override Bush's Veto of Bill to Expand Children's Health Insurance

Fossella Calls for Bipartisan Agreement Following Override Vote

For the second time in three months, Congressman Vito Fossella today voted to override President Bush's veto of legislation that would expand a popular program that provides healthcare for millions of uninsured children. Fossella was one of only 42 Republicans this afternoon who voted to override the veto, which failed to gain the two-thirds majority necessary (260-152).

In October 2007, Fossella voted to override Bush's veto of legislation to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) by an additional $35 billion over five years. That measure also failed to pass with a two-thirds majority (273-156). Fossella was one of only 45 Republicans in the House last year to support the legislation.

"There are times when I agree with the President and times when we disagree. I've always maintained my independence because my responsibility is to vote in the best interest of the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn. The SCHIP program has been a huge success in providing coverage to millions of uninsured children. It has played a key role in ensuring that children receive proper care and has helped put millions of young Americans on the path to a healthier lifestyle. This legislation would also benefit society as a whole because taxpayers save when children receive proper preventative care and learn of medical conditions sooner. This bill would put millions of young people on the road to a longer and healthier life."

The bill would have provided health care coverage for more than10 million children, including the 6.6 million children (618,973 of whom live in New York) currently covered by CHIP and nearly 4 million additional uninsured young people who are currently eligible for either CHIP or Medicaid but who have not enrolled in either program. On Staten Island, more than 7,700 children are currently enrolled in New York State's CHIP program, Child Health Plus. Under the bill, an additional 268,000 low-income children in New York will receive health coverage.

The legislation also enhances S-CHIP benefits to include, for the first time, dental care and mental health services.

Although the President and Congress could not agree on an expansion of SCHIP last year, they extended the current program until March of 2009.

S-CHIP is a federal-state partnership that provides health coverage to children whose families earned too much to qualify for Medicaid, but who did not have private health insurance because it is unavailable through their employer or unaffordable.

Under S-CHIP, states receive federal matching funds to offer health coverage to children whose families have incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level. States also have the ability to apply for waivers to extend eligibility to children whose families earn slightly more money.

The legislation was endorsed by more than 270 organizations that represent millions of Americans, including the American Medical Association (AMA), American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, United Cerebral Palsy, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the March of Dimes, Easter Seals, the NAACP and AARP.

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