Heller votes to sustain Bush SCHIP veto again

The U.S. House of Representatives was 13 votes shy of over-riding President Bush’s veto of the SCHIP bill, H.R. 3963, and no one expected Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV2) to cast his ballot in favor of working American families who find themselves unable to afford medical care for their children. Heller, presumably basking in his role as a stalwart supporter of the Bush-Cheney administration, is still clutching those long-refuted contentions that the bill “is an unnecessary tax” (on cigarette manufacturers), [DB] would “cause families to abandon private insurance plans” (without a shred of evidence to support this), and might allow “illegal immigrants to be covered” (it never did, and has been strengthened since). [LV Sun] [DB]

The House Republicans have just defeated the measure, again, on a 260-152 vote, [roll call 22] despite the veto-proof margin of victory in the Senate. [Gavel] Expect Heller and his cohort Steve King (R-IA5) to follow the “slippery slope to socialized medicine” line into the 2008 election season. [DKos] It seems enough for the right wing Republicans to have the current 18 month extension of the current program without expanding coverage to additional families who are finding themselves in financial trouble at the moment, and to allow additional leave time for veterans’ caregivers.

Nevada Representatives Berkley (D-NV1) and Porter (R-NV3) voted in favor of the veto override. [roll call 22]

Cross posted at Desert Beacon