Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Bush to Veto SCHIP ‘Quietly,’ Without ‘Ceremony’

ThinkProgress.org: White House spokeswoman Dana Perino confirmed that President Bush plans to veto the legislation “tomorrow or so.” When asked whether there will be a ceremony, Perino replied, “I would not anticipate that there would be any ceremony.” She added, “The President will probably veto it quietly.”

It’s not surprising that Bush is hoping no one notices his veto, which will deny health coverage to four million children. Over 70 percent of Americans support Congress’s proposed SCHIP increase. Bush has stated that he opposes funding the program with revenue from cigarette taxes, even though such taxes are tied to decreases in smoking. Furthermore, the public overwhelmingly supports raising tobacco taxes, by a margin of 67 percent to 28 percent.

Bush knows his veto is unpopular. After all, he’s certainly not opposed to lavish ceremonies and using children for political photo-ops.

Perhaps Bush couldn’t find any families who would be willing to stand with him on this veto?

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