Leading The News

White House stands firm as House SCHIP vote nears
By Jeffrey Young
September 25, 2007

The battle between President Bush and majorities in both chambers of Congress over the expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is intensifying, with the legislation headed toward House passage Tuesday and the White House formalizing its threat to veto the bill.

In a Statement of Administration Policy issued by the Office of Management and Budget, the White House said Bush would not accept the $35 billion SCHIP expansion crafted after painstaking negotiations between House and Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans. The upper chamber is slated to vote on the legislation, H.R. 976, later this week.

“If H.R. 976 were presented to the President in its current form, he would veto the bill,â€