The House just voted 273 to 156 to override Bush’s veto of children’s health insurance, 13 votes short of the needed two-thirds majority. Once again, the conservative minority in Washington has obstructed the public will.
While congressional leaders were able to persuade most of the conservative Dems who previously voted “No” to support the override, joining almost every other Dem and 44 Republicans, no additional Republicans joined the override effort.
In response, Campaign for America’s Future Co-Director Roger Hickey released the following statement:
One hundred and fifty-six House Members declared themselves enemies of children and families with this vote. Ignoring the will of the people, a conservative minority in the House sustained the president’s veto and denied nearly 5 million children access to health insurance. Upholding the president’s veto is only the latest obstruction to progress by Washington conservatives.
An overwhelming majority of Americans support populist reforms, but conservatives have repeatedly used filibusters and vetoes to block this progress and then they hypocritically blame others for a lack of congressional action. The record is clear. Congressional conservatives and the president are the culprits who have stood in the way of a new progressive direction for our nation. Our children will pay a steep price for their cruel politics.
Conservatives celebrate the veto at their own peril. Voters are calling on their government to solve the health care crisis for Americans of all ages. Where legislators stood on expanding children’s health care is a good indication of where they will stand on critical reforms needed to provide affordable health care for all – an issue that will be at the center of our political debate in next year’s elections.
