Children's Health Insurance Expansion Passed in U.S. Senate and Republicans aren't happy. If theres only one position thats morally and politically correct in the entire country, its that all children should have health insurance. That was the case since 1997, when the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was created. And today marks the third time Congress has approved the expansion of SCHIP, providing access to the program for millions more children.
The third time is apparently the charm for greater expansion. President Obama is expected to sign the bill which was approved by both houses of Congress. The Senate passed the SCHIP bill by a lopsided 66 to 32 vote, but that didn't make certain Republicans feel any better, as partisan politics continued to reign in Washington.
Republican lawmakers didn't like a certain provision in the bill which allowed legal immigrants to enroll in SCHIP. They wanted to continue to force the legal immigrants to wait five years before they become eligible. The prior bill presented to Congress had this provision omitted, but it was added back in this time by the Democratic majority.
The debate got heated in the chamber and Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah was among the most vocal. He felt that the bill could have gotten 95 votes if the provision hadn't been added in, and added that he felt that the addition of it was like a slap in the face from the members of the other party.
Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi questioned whether the real intent of the legislation was to replace private health care with a government run system. Democratic Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois saw it a bit differently, when he advised that the debate was about children's health care, and was not a debate about immigration.
The third time is apparently the charm for greater expansion. President Obama is expected to sign the bill which was approved by both houses of Congress. The Senate passed the SCHIP bill by a lopsided 66 to 32 vote, but that didn't make certain Republicans feel any better, as partisan politics continued to reign in Washington.
Republican lawmakers didn't like a certain provision in the bill which allowed legal immigrants to enroll in SCHIP. They wanted to continue to force the legal immigrants to wait five years before they become eligible. The prior bill presented to Congress had this provision omitted, but it was added back in this time by the Democratic majority.
The debate got heated in the chamber and Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah was among the most vocal. He felt that the bill could have gotten 95 votes if the provision hadn't been added in, and added that he felt that the addition of it was like a slap in the face from the members of the other party.
Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi questioned whether the real intent of the legislation was to replace private health care with a government run system. Democratic Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois saw it a bit differently, when he advised that the debate was about children's health care, and was not a debate about immigration.
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