Democrats Begin SCHIP Veto Override Campaign

With a presidential veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) now official, Congressional Democrats have formally embarked on a campaign to find the 15 to 20 votes from House Republicans they will need to override President Bush's veto pen.

Aides say because the $35 billion expansion of the program originated in the House, that chamber will go first in its attempt to override Bush's third veto ever as president (his veto of the Water Development Act today makes four). That vote is likely to come during the week of Oct. 15, leaving two more weeks for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to exert political pressure on any wavering Republicans. The Senate will follow suit, presumably only if the House secures the two-thirds majority of those present -- the voting ratio that is required by the Constitution to beat a presidential veto. The Senate already has enough votes, 67, to defeat Bush's veto, so all the drama is on the House side for this showdown.

The magic number of votes Pelosi will need is a bit of a moving target at this point, depending on how many lawmakers are present for the vote. There are currently two open seats vacated by a death and a retirement, meaning if all 433 current members voted Democrats need 289 votes to win.

During the vote on final passage last week, the House voted 265-159 in favor of the legislation, with one "present" vote and eight lawmakers absent. At least two of those eight -- GOP Reps. Jo Ann Davis (Va.) and Barbara Cubin (Wyo.) -- have been ill and have not attended votes in quite a while, making it likely they won't be on hand for the SCHIP override vote. That would lower the override threshold to 287 votes in favor, out of 431 total lawmakers voting.

Politically, Democrats have begun targeting Republicans to try to sway their votes. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee began airing radio ads against the following eight Republicans on the SCHIP issue: Steve Chabot (Ohio), Thelma Drake (Va.), Tom Feeney (Fla.), Sam Graves (Mo.), Randy Kuhl (N.Y.), Jim Saxton and Tim Walberg (Mich.).

Between those who weren't around for the first SCHIP vote and the 'present' vote -- from Rep. Dianne Watson (D-Calif.) -- Democrats believe they have a handful of other votes they could count on during a veto override, putting them at around 270 votes in favor of the program.

If they are successful in flipping five to 10 Republicans in the next week or two, the real pressure will likely fall on the eight Democrats who voted against the program, almost all of whom represent rural conservative districts: Reps. David Boren (Okla.), Betty Castor (Fla.), Bobby Etheridge (N.C.), Baron Hill (Ind.), Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Jim Marshall (Ga.), Mike McIntyre (N.C.), and Gene Taylor (Miss.).

For now, the Democrats' top political strategists feel like they can win either way on this issue, convincing the requisite number of Republicans to side with them or punishing them at the polls next fall. Here are two statements this week that sum up the Democratic feelings on the issue, from the party's top operatives: Chris Van Hollen (Md.), chairman of the DCCC, and Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), former DCCC chairman and current chairman of the Democratic caucus.

Van Hollen: "We're going district by district to tell Republicans and President Bush to stop obstructing progress and start putting children first. Republicans who continue to vote in lockstep with President Bush and against children will be held accountable."

Emanuel: "The President and 15 Republicans stand in the way of 10 million children receiving the health care that we receive here as members of Congress. There have been three vetoes in President Bush's term--one to end the war, one to permit stem cell research, and now one to allow 10 million children to get their health care. That says it all about President Bush."

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DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN. CALL, FAX, EMAIL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. GO TO THE THREAD ON THE SCHIP VOTE.........TAKE ACTION BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.