Yesterday, a very popular amendment that would have funded programs for super smart kids and created college scholarships for Americans was gutted by the Conferees, yes that's our House representatives and Senators, to the H.R. 3043: Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008. The amendment would increase fees on H-1B employers by $3,500.  About $3,000 of this fee increase would be targeted to $15,000 scholarships in math, science, engineering, and healthcare.  About $500 of the fee increase would be dedicated to the Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Program.

In response to Garrett's shameful vote to not override President Bush's SCHIP veto, NJ-5's Democratic challenger Dennis Shulman has called on the ideologue to get his priorities straight

As going into this morning's debate on the override of Bush's SCHIP veto Democrats appeared 15 or so votes shy of the 2/3 to succeed, the news that their attempt has failed is disappointing but not terribly surprising. The vote was 273-156 (roll call HERE.) Only two Democrats voted against override (Rep. Marshall of Georgia and Rep. Taylor of Mississippi) and 44 Republicans voted Yes.

So what now? This article from the Christian Science Monitor will likely be typical:

But even before Thursday's House vote, GOP moderates were scoping out prospects for a Plan B on renewal of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) - one that they could expect to see the president sign.

A starting point is more funding. Mr. Bush has asked for a $5 billion increase in the S-CHIP program over the next five years. Congress passed a bill calling for a $35 billion expansion.

"There is room for a compromise, but it has to come at the income level [determining which families qualify for government help], and the amount of funding," says Rep. Ray LaHood (R) of Illinois, who has been lobbying his caucus to support the current S-CHIP bill. The intense lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill in the days since Bush's Oct. 3 veto has moved a few votes into the "yes" column, he says, but not enough. "But a lot of Republicans want a bill to vote on."

Yes, the Democrats are going to be portrayed as the intransigent ones, the ones unwilling to compromise when in reality, this was already a compromise bill. If Mr. 24% is such a grand advocate for compromise, surely he'll budge from his $5 billion number. Right?

Update [2007-10-18 13:53:28 by Todd Beeton]: Steve Benen makes an interesting point.

Here’s the key number to keep in mind: last month 45 House Republicans voted for his bill. Today, that number dropped to 44.

In other words, after weeks of media scrutiny, public debate, constituent phone calls, right-wing smears of innocent families, and intense lobbying, the Republican Party ended up going backwards on providing healthcare for low-income kids.

Compassionate conservatism, R.I.P.

Truly amazing the ability of this deeply unpopular president to still keep the Republican caucus in line even at their electoral peril.

It looks like our Congressman in the Hagerstown area (Washington County, MD) is going to vote to uphold Bush's Veto on S-CHIP. This is disappointing, as I believe most of the people I live around would like to see this pass. Hagerstown is a working community that is losing businesses rapidly and where the working poor and even those who make 200-300 percent above the poverty level have trouble getting health insurance.

I have called Congressman Roscoe Bartlett's phone line, and sent him e-mails, stressing the need for him to join the Democrats and Republicans who, by a clear majority, support this bill and want to override the veto today. It doesn't look like he is going to respond.

So I sent this final e-mail off this morning:

Dear Congressman:
I am one of the constituents who is part of a majority of Hagerstowners who support the SCHIP program that was approved by both Democrats and Republicans this month. We also support the overriding of President Bush's veto.

If you vote to support his veto, you are voting against the wishes, and NEEDS, of your constituents.

If you do vote this way, I propose that we will hereafter call trips by poor children to the Emergency Room for the coverage the President has recommended  a "Roscoe".

Maybe that will elicit a response. I doubt it, though.

Under The LobsterScope

Ok, just to organize my own effort among friends, I compiled a list of all the Republican Congressfolk that are listed as "top targets" to be pressured to switch their vote by October 17th...

It includes their names, states, districts, webforms to send them email, and phone numbers.

VERY open to expanding this list, but thought it could be a good start and a helpful list for others in the netroots to use.

The quick page I put up is at http://www.vetooverride.com

Nowhere is this more evident than in the fact that the frontrunners for the Republican nomination for president have all come out in favor of Bush's veto of the expansion of SCHIP.

The four leading Republican presidential candidates have aligned themselves with President Bush's veto on Wednesday of an expanded health insurance program for children, once again testing the political risk of appearing in lock step with a president who has low approval ratings and some critics of the veto within their party.

The message is clear: they too would have vetoed healthcare for kids.

What's most amazing is that for these guys, supporting this veto is actually somewhat of a no-brainer politically, since, despite the fact that the electorate at large is in favor of the SCHIP program and its expansion, the GOP primary electorate supports the veto.

As for the children's insurance veto, the candidates, in aligning with Mr. Bush, are mindful of the concerns of fiscal conservatives that expanding the program could result in huge future costs. Unlike with Iraq or Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Bush's capacity to be a drag on the candidates' fortunes is smaller on the insurance veto, Republican analysts say, because the veto is not especially unpopular with Republican primary voters. They are the current target audience for the candidates, according to their campaign advisers, so the electoral gamble of supporting the veto -- if not Mr. Bush -- is relatively modest at this point.

That said, they also know it's likely to be a liability in the general election, so aren't exactly shouting it from the mountaintops. All except Mitt Romney, that is, who still needs to shake off the healthcare program he signed into law in Massachusetts. Accordingly, Mitt Romney is the only one to post his statement of support for the veto on his website:

"I agree with the President that this legislation - while well intentioned - took the wrong approach. The Democrat SCHIP expansion bill would take children out of private insurance and put them into government insurance. It was a flawed approach. The right course is to get all children and all citizens insured with private, market-based health insurance."

And this guy thinks he's going to run as the candidate of change? This is just one more issue for the Democratic nominee to make clear that anyone of these guys elected president would equal Bush's 3rd term.

Straight Talk Express keeps on chugging:

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, told CNN Wednesday he agrees with President Bush's veto of legislation expanding a children's health insurance program, saying the bill provided a "phony smoke and mirrors way of paying for it."

"Right call by the president," the Republican White House hopeful told CNN's John King.

McCain went on to rail against the bill as "out of control spending" despite the fact that the bill has a funding provision in the form of a rise in the cigarette tax of $.61 per pack, something that can not be said of the war supplementals McCain continues to vote for.

What's most telling about McCain's response, though, is that it reflects his deluded thinking that the Republicans lost in 2006 pretty much entirely because they let spending get out of control. What's more, McCain completely ignores polling that confirms people's belief that government in fact should be in the business of providing social services to Americans, including quite specifically, healthcare for children.

You've already seen the ABC News/WaPo poll that showed support for the SCHIP reauthorization at 72% with 25% opposed. The latest Democracy Corps Poll (pdf) (September 16-18, 2007, 1000 LVs) also polled SCHIP, both specifically and in more general terms.

The first question polled the opposing arguments of the SCHIP debate, framing it as Bush v. Democrats. Guess who wins.

Now let me read you two statements about the children's health care. After I read them, please tell me which statement comes closest to your own thinking, even if neither is exactly right.

The Democrat says, we have a chance to ensure that all children in the country have health care. The Congress is going to pass an expansion of the existing children's health care program, administered by each state, to insure 3 million more children in working families. It is paid for by increasing the tax on a pack of cigarettes.

OR

President Bush says, he would veto an expansion of the S-CHIP program because it is a form of socialized medicine that will encourage people to drop their private insurance and join a government insurance plan. That's the wrong approach.

Democrat 60
Bush 35

Gee there's that magic 35% we keep seeing that pretty closely tracks with the Bush deadenders club, of which McCain is a founding member.

The next question (asked of only 500 LVs) polled the issue more generally in the context of the presidential election:

Regardless of which candidate you currently support for President, how important is it that a candidate posses each of the following characteristics - is it very important, somewhat important, not too important, or not important at all?

Very important 50
Somewhat important 27
Not too important 12
Not important at all 10

77% believe the presidential candidates should have a plan for universal healthcare for children. Where's your healthcare plan, Senator McCain? [crickets chirp]

DemFromCT has more on where the Republican presidential candidates stand on SCHIP (hint: they're opposed to the bill) although they'll only whisper it to you when no one's looking. Looks like McCain's the first to go on the record supporting the veto. But he won't be the last.

This morning George Bush vetoed the expansion and re-authorization of SCHIP in the most cowardly fashion.

The White House sought little attention for Bush's action, with the president casting his veto behind closed doors without any fanfare or news coverage. He defended it later Wednesday during a budget speech in Lancaster, Pa., addressing a welcoming audience organized by the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry in GOP-friendly Pennsylvania Dutch country.

At that event, he cast himself as the compromiser in chief.

But he seemed eager to avert a full-scale showdown over the difficult issue, offering that he is "more than willing" to negotiate with lawmakers "if they need a little more money in the bill to help us meet the objective of getting help for poor children."

Refreshingly, the Democrats appear in no mood for compromise and have adopted a post-veto override strategy.

Democratic congressional leaders said they may put off the override attempt for as long as two weeks to maximize pressure on Republican House members whose votes will be critical.

"We remain committed to making SCHIP into law -- with or without the president's support," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., referring to the full name of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. [...]

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Democrats were imploring 15 House Republicans to switch positions but had received no agreements so far.

To aid in that effort, a coalition made up of MoveOn.org Political Action, Americans United for Change, AFSCME, USAction, SEIU, and True Majority will be holding more than 200 "Rallies For Our Children's Health" around the country to urge Congress to override the veto. You can find a rally near you HERE.

To find out if your congressman voted against healthcare for children, the roll call vote is HERE. Call them (switchboard: 202-225-3121) and demand that they vote to override the veto. I wrote about 8 of the Republicans the Democratic leadership is targeting HERE but there are plenty more where that came from -- 151 Republicans voted against it after all. I expect every Democratic challenger of these Bush lapdogs to hit on this issue at every opportunity.

Update [2007-10-3 13:2:58 by Todd Beeton]: From the diaries, check out this very effective ad from Families USA.