The bipartisan Senate Finance Committee overwhelmingly passed a proposal to renew and expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program on Thursday.
The committee's 17-4 vote comes despite strong threats from the Bush Administration that any significant expansion of the public program would be vetoed. SCHIP insures some 6.6 million indigent children and young adults whose parents don't qualify for Medicaid.
The bill, first unveiled by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), July 13, would renew the program upon its 10-year expiration this September. It would also expand baseline funding for the program by an additional $35 billion over five years. Currently, baseline funding is set at $25 billion.
Facing an uncertain future, the bill now heads to the full Senate. Congressional Democrats are expected to back the proposal, while House Republicans may find it too spendy. The $35 billion price tag is a compromise on Democrats' earlier request for as much as $50 billion and Republicans' promise not to back a bill with more than $35 billion allocated.
"Today's vote shows that Republicans and Democrats both understand that ensuring children have access to affordable health insurance is the right thing to do," Rockefeller said.
A federal tax increase of 61 cents per pack of cigarettes would fund the bill. Proportional increases for other tobacco products would be levied as well. The committee estimates that nearly 3.3 million additional children would gain health insurance if Congress passes the bill.
"This is a good bill," said Hatch at a press conference following the vote. "I wish it did not cost what it does, but I am persuaded this is necessary spending when I think of the six million American children who are leading healthier lives because of our vision and commitment."
President Bush is likely to make sure that the legislation doesn't see the light of day, but the Finance Committee's ranking members have encouraged him to rethink the implications of a veto.
"I hope the Administration recognizes the importance of this program and can see that after this bill, the next step is to work on a bipartisan basis to develop tax legislation that will further expand health insurance coverage for far more American families," Grassley said.
Baucus said he was impressed by the cooperation that went into the bill. "It's time for the full Senate and the entire Congress to stand together for kids, and to renew the Children's Health Insurance Program in a way that makes a difference for kids in need," he said.
Members of the committee met July 17 to mark up the proposal, at which time they added a single measure, introduced by Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), to improve reimbursement to community health centers. Click here for a summary of provisions in the Chairman's Mark of the proposal.