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Children's Health Care Passes House

Posted by Michael Link on September 26, 2007 at 10:47 AM

But will Bush tell millions of children that they're going to be denied coverage when they're sick and most in need? Will he veto that bipartisan compromise that passed overwhelmingly in the House?

He has threatened to pull a Mitt Romney by saying "no more free rides" to poor children, but there's a lot at stake here. The 265-159 vote last night in the House, while decisive, fell just short of a veto-proof majority.

Some votes might flip between now and then, and a veto won't end this debate. These children deserve care, and to put this in perspective, it's only at a cost of just over 2 weeks in Iraq.

The bill, which covers an estimated 10 million children (4 million additional), helps prevent the shortfalls in funding that denies coverage and guarantees dental health and mental health benefits. You can read this report about the legislation.

Does Bush think that poor sick children should have to get a job, and hope it comes with health care? Or will he understand that we need a safety net to protect the most vulnerable in our communities.

Let's be clear -- the Bush plan isn't compromise. It's a cut that would leave less children insured. Democrats and Republicans already compromised on a bill that passed with overwhelming support, yet Bush might undercut all that.

Republican leaders shouldn't want to be on the wrong side of this important moral issue. But if that's not enough for them, health care is one of the biggest issues in America right now -- and Americans overwhelmingly want this to pass.

Here's what Rep. Rangel had to say about the bill, via the Gavel:

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