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Bush Shows True Colors with Health Care for Children Veto
By Region 8 Webmaster John Davis

The poster child for religion “President George W. Bush” proved once again on October 03, 2007 that he has no qualities that identify him as a Christian. Quietly, behind closed doors like the rat he is, he cast only the fourth veto of presidency, saying no to the State Children's Health Insurance Program bill. This bipartisan bill 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.

Bush cast the veto under the pretence that it moves our country toward socialized medicine and pushes the cost of the program to high. The legislation would cost $35 billion over four years and add four more million children to the program. The bill passed the Senate by enough votes to override a veto, but the House is 15 votes short. Of the 43 million Americans who are uninsured, over six million or nine percent are under the age of 18.

While the President insists the veto is his detest for the thought of governmental backed medical coverage for all. However, the truth could be a darker reason. In 2000 tobacco interest pumped $6.7 million into the Republican Party’s 2000 campaign and another $2.6 million in 2006. What does that have to do with it you may ask? The plan for funding the program is where the problem lies. The bill calls for a dollar a pack tax increase on cigarettes to cover the cost of the program. This tax would most certainly impact sales of cigarettes.

According to the website Opensecrets.org, tobacco industry political contributions have grown one sided over the past 25 years. In 1990, the tobacco industry pretty much split their political contributions between the parties. However, since that time the Republicans have grown their share of the tobacco lobby’s contribution until it reached 74% in 2006.

Bush has had a long relationship with tobacco. Former Senior White House advisor Karl Rove was on the Philip Morris payroll from 1991 to 1996 as a paid political consultant and tactician. Another “Christian” who helped Philip Morris wage their propaganda machine about the “misinformation on second hand smoke.” Think tank Common Cause has reported that during the 2003 Congressional calendar, the tobacco industry averaged $127,000 a day on lobbying, for every day Congress was in session.

The President had said he would support a bill that cost $5 billion, but not the $35 billion price tag on this proposal. The cost of the program would cost about $20 per U.S. citizen, per year. This is a program that is widely supported by the American public that Bush is saying no to. For comparison, the War in Iraq which has little public support is averaging $400 per citizen, per year. While the President refuses $35 billion over five years for State Children's Health Insurance Program, he is willing to spend $120 billion PER YEAR on a war this country’s citizens overwhelmingly don’t want. Estimates conclude that EVERY DAY we spend enough money in Iraq to insure 200,000 children for a year.

Another thing to consider is that every child covered by a governmental health care program is one less child on the roles of an insurance company. 70 years ago private insurance plans didn’t even exist and today they are one of the most profitable enterprises around. Insurance companies exclude anyone with a preexisting condition, reducing their liabilities while raising profits. Studies show that each year 18,000 Americans die because they can’t afford quality health care. That is a sobering number.

A good portion of the profits made on health insurance is spent in political action to insure continued returns through legislation that benefits these companies. Reports show insurance companies spend about $87 million a year in lobbying, with 69% of that going to Republicans.

The President thinks the income levels are too high for those who would benefit from the expansion of the program. The conservative media keeps running the number $64,000 up the flag pole as those who would qualify. However, there is one important fact that must be stated: since states will administer the program, the qualifications for eligibility will vary from state to state. The conservatives pulled the number $64,000 from areas with the highest cost of living such as New York City and San Francisco. Try raising a family of four in one of those areas on $64,000 and then tell me how high that income is. For good measure, let’s throw the eligibility for Medicare in the equation. Everyone who reaches the age of 65 becomes eligible for Medicare – regardless of their income. So, a 65 year old billionaire can receive government supplemented health care but a 10 year old child living in San Francisco in a family that makes $64,000 a year can not. For good measure, we must consider the average TWO bedroom apartment in San Francisco rents for $3400 a month. Let me do the math for you – that equates to $40,800 a year, leaving $23,200 a year for your other expenses – not including income tax. But in “compassionate conservative fairyland” this must make sense.

So, when you follow the money trail, President Bush has many reasons to veto the State Children's Health Insurance Program, yet none of them are Christian and none of them honorable. Bush may be the president, but he is not a dictator. We can override his veto, but we must keep pressure on those elected officials who have the power to accomplish this. The time has come to provide health care for all, and this must be a central issue in the 2008 elections.