Although the revised bill costs the same, 35million dollars over 5 years, Democratic leaders say that they have addressed the concerns brought up by the President who vetoed the original bill and the members of the House who voted no on overriding his veto.
Namely it will not allow coverage to families who make more than 3 times the federal poverty line, it would phase out coverage to young childless couples over a one year period (some states offer this, not all), and require stricter checking of applicant’s social security numbers.
“This is a clarification of the legislation” stated Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi denied requests from moderate Republicans for more time before the vote, which is scheduled for today, in order to try and get more supporters from their conservative partners.
The bill will almost certainly pass a majority vote before going on to get vetoed by our obstinate president. The changes made to the bill address his concerns except that the money is still coming from a cigarette tax which he opposes. Let’s hope that this time our Representatives will be able to override the veto and get the protection in place that our children deserve.
Mike Viqueira, NBC News’ reporter, has seen a lot of anger in the House Republicans who feel that these changes might just cause enough Republicans to deflect and actually support America’s children. The changes are specifically targeted to 38 Republicans who supported the veto and then wrote a letter detailing their concerns. The bill’s supporters are certain that these concerns are addressed now in the new legislation.
This just may mean success, now that their “legitimate” concerns have been addressed it will be harder for them to refuse to listen to a majority of American citizens, their constituents, without seriously damaging their opportunity for reelection. My fingers are crossed.