Bush vs. the children.

Byline: The Register-Guard

President Bush says he'll veto a bill that provides health insurance to more than 10 million children. Congressional Democrats say, "Bring it on," while many of their Republican counterparts openly question why the president has picked this particularly unpopular fight.

It doesn't take a political advertising wizard to capitalize on such unambiguous imagery: Just show stone-faced Republicans in tailored dark suits slamming clinic doors on wailing sick kids. Voters willrunto the ballot box to throw those heartless bums out.

At least, that's what Democrats hope will happen in 2008. And since Bush's reasoning doesn't even resonate with most Republicans, odds are good the veto is a loser for the party. It digs the hole even deeper for Republicans who hope to hold on to their seats despite massive public disenchantment with Bush's unending war in Iraq.

Bush has two big problems with the proposed expansion of the popular State Children's Health Insurance Program: He says it will cause people who can afford private insurance to cancel their coverage in favor of a government-run program, and it costs too much. But it's the ideological opposition to government-sponsored health care that most animates his opposition.

"The bill goes too far toward federalizing health care and turns a program meant to help low-income children into one that covers children in some households with incomes of up to $83,000 a year," Bush said.

Baloney, says the bill's co-author, Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa. Actually, Grassley said Bush was "factually inaccurate." The Congressional Budget Office analyzed the SCHIP bill and found that it primarily benefits lower-income families. It would add coverage for almost 4 million uninsured children, while continuing coverage for 6.6 million kids. Almost all of those children live in families that earn less than twice the poverty level, or about $41,000 for a family of four. Bush's $83,000 figure is for a family of four in the state of New York, which just raised SCHIP eligibility to four times the poverty level.

Many Republicans are upset with Bush's opposition, and with good reason. The GOP is missing in action in the national health care reform debate, despite polls showing that affordable health care is the No. 1 domestic issue for voters. While Democratic presidential candidates unveil comprehensive health care plans that offer coverage for the nation's 47 million uninsured residents, Republicans haven't come up with anything but tax breaks that make sense only for people who already have insurance.

The SCHIP expansion bill has strong bipartisan support because Democrats agreed to include key Republican priorities in the legislation. The bill calls for states not meeting enrollment benchmarks for the lowest income children by October 2010 to give up SCHIP funds for enrollees above 300 percent of the poverty level.

The House approved the final SCHIP bill on Tuesday 265-159, with support from 45 Republicans. That's still more than 20 votes short of the number needed to override a veto, but it represents far more Republican support than the White House predicted when the debate began.

Both sides accuse the other of playing politics with children's health, but it's clear Bush holds the losing cards in this particular game. Senator Grassley urged House Democrats to shame Republicans by "calling a vote every three months" and airing campaign ads "accusing Republicans of abandoning children." When's the last time a conservative Republican offered Democrats that kind of advice?