October 25, 2007
As you may recall, the House sent President Bush legislation reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program in early October. He vetoed that bill and on October 18th, the House was unsuccessful in an attempt to override his veto. On Thursday, October 25th the House considered H.R. 3963: Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act, a revised version of H.R. 976 — the SCHIP legislation that the President vetoed.
H.R. 3963 still provides an additional $35 billion over 5 years to provide health insurance for low income children. The 6 million children currently receiving health insurance under SCHIP will continue to be covered and as many as 4 million additional children who are eligible but do not currently receive coverage, will be added.
Several changes were made to the initial SCHIP legislation in an effort to address Republican concerns. Some of these include language further clarifying that the bill is designed to cover low-income children first and a requirement that potential SCHIP enrollees submit documentation showing citizenship if their status is unable to be established through the Social Security Administration. I voted YES. The bill passed, and once again, President Bush is threatening a veto.
| YEA | NAY | PRESENT | NOT VOTING | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEMOCRAT | 222 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
| REPUBLICAN | 43 |
141 |
0 |
16 |
| TOTAL | 265 |
142 |
0 |
26 |
| MASSACHUSETTS DELEGATION |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Contact: Alison M. Mills (617) 621-6208