President Obama signs SCHIP legislation into law

Happy people.

h/t Hippie Cyndi

Undoing BushCo: New dynamic in children's health debate

By GottaLaff

SCHIP is back... and it seems the Republicans can't do much about it:

Republicans appear to have overplayed their hand when blocking the expansion of a children's health care program last year.

They face the likelihood that Democrats in the coming weeks will pass a bill that they dislike even more.

With more Democrats in Congress and President Barack Obama in the White House, GOP lawmakers don't have the numbers or a veto threat to do anything about it.

The Senate planned to begin debate as early as Monday on a bill that would increase spending on the State Children's Health Insurance Program by $31.5 billion over the next 4 1/2 years.

Congress approved a similar bill in late 2007 that former President George W. Bush vetoed. [...] But the current legislation contains some important changes.

It is friendlier to states that want to cover children in families with incomes exceeding three times the federal poverty level - $63,600 for a family of four.

Also, the bill calls for covering children of legal immigrants now barred from government-sponsored insurance until they have been in the country at least five years. [...]

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Friday that investing in children's health coverage brings savings down the road because those kids are more likely to become productive adults.

"Some people want to make this a debate about immigration. This isn't a debate about immigration. It's a debate about taking care of our children, children who are here legally," Reid said.

The money to pay for expanding the program would come from a 61-cents per pack increase in the tax on cigarettes as well as tax increases on other tobacco products.

It's called foresight and compassion. Remember those? They're back.

Hispanics embrace House SCHIP vote

By GottaLaff

Yesterday I posted that SCHIP is back. It's already having a positive effect:

Hispanic voters turned out in droves last fall to elect Barack Obama and his Democratic allies on Capitol Hill.

Those allies get their first chance to return the favor on Wednesday when the House takes up a children’s health care measure that would grant Medicaid coverage to children of new immigrants whose families came to the U.S. legally.

The immigration status of Treasury nominee Timothy Geithner’s former housekeeper might dominate the headlines, but this House vote has a much deeper impact on the country’s immigrant population and could set the tone for future debates.

“We really believe that this is the first opportunity for the president-elect and the Congress to demonstrate their commitment to the Latino community,” said Jennifer Ngandu, a spokeswoman for the National Council of La Raza.

Another example of why it's important to give P.E. Obama the time he needs to come through for us.

SCHIP is back

By GottaLaff

It's so, so, so-o-o nice to be in power. From the Department of Making Up for Lost Time:

The House will vote this week on legislation to reauthorize and expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) after Democrats introduced a new bill on Tuesday.

The Democratic leaders of the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees who authored the bill said it would expand SCHIP benefits to 4 million children who have no health benefits and maintain coverage for the 7 million kids already enrolled in SCHIP.

What? A program that will actually help people? How dare they?! Allow me to sputter: Ahem....

!?!Who's in charge here!?! sputter, spray, snort!! Qiekjaqadiqedhwsadf!!!

Democrats, that's who.

Congressional action on the popular SCHIP measure, which passed Congress with bipartisan votes twice in 2007 but died under President Bush’s veto pen, would give the incoming Obama administration a quick victory on healthcare, one of its major priorities.

Passing an SCHIP expansion also would stand as a down payment on the comprehensive health reform effort promised by President-elect Obama. [...]

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) said, “Congressional passage and swift enactment by President-elect Obama will demonstrate that change has come to Washington.”

We can, we will, and we just did.