Bush Vetoes Child Health Plan

The fourth veto of the Bush presidency- a bipartisan bill that would have expanded the the successful Children's Health Insurance Program. The Senate approved the bill with enough votes to override the veto, but the margin in the House fell short of the required number.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid commented: "'Never has it been clearer how detached President Bush is from the priorities of the American people...By vetoing a bipartisan bill to renew the successful Children's Health Insurance Program, President Bush is denying health care to millions of low-income kids in America."

The State Children's Health Insurance Program is a joint state-federal effort that subsidizes health coverage for 6.6 million people, mostly children, from families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford their own private coverage.