President Bush vetoed a bill (HR 976) to reauthorize State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) on October 3, sending it back to Congress.  A compromise of the Senate and House's reauthorization priorities, the bill had experienced broad bipartisan support in Congress, with the Senate passing it by a veto-proof margin of 67-29 on September 27, and a 265-159 House passage on September 25.  Given the Senate veto-proof majority, the bill first returned to the House where, on October 18, it failed to garner the two-thirds majority necessary to override the President's veto, by a vote of 273-156.  To see how your Representative voted on the veto override, click here.  The current SCHIP program expired on September 30, but is maintained through November 16 through a continuing resolution (CR).  Congress and the President must act before then to ensure continuation of SCHIP; the House passed a modified version of the bill by 265-142 on October 25. 

The compromise bill vetoed by the President would reauthorize SCHIP and expand the program to provide 10 million low-income children with health care, 3.8 million of who are currently uninsured. The bill also would add $35 billion in funding to the program over the next five years. The additional funding would be paid for by a 61-cent-per-pack increase in the tobacco tax.  SCHIP coverage of childless adults and parents would be phased out to maintain the program's focus on kids, and dental and mental health coverage would be added.  The modifications to the House's revised bill include: a cap on income eligibility for uninsured children; phase-out of childless adults in one year (rather than two); required state plans to prevent "crowd out" of families leaving private insurance for SCHIP; and enforcements to prevent uninsured children from enrolling. 

To read more about the provisions included in the compromise SCHIP bill, see Families USA's new side-by-side document; stay updated on future SCHIP legislative action through a special section of their website.