The expansion of SCHIP is not being pushed by the House Democrats because they think it will not be passed. "We are not going to change any votes on the children's health insurance bill. We still don't have enough to override a veto, " is what Representative Rahm Emanuel is saying.
We're thinking that the Democrats are banking on Illinois Senator Barack Obama winning the presidential election in November. Senator Obama is a supporter of expanding SCHIP, and he's even gone as far to say he'll push for a federal mandate that all children have health insurance.
Republicans think that expanding SCHIP is too costly and a step toward "socialized medicine" which is not what they want. Democrats blurt that Republicans just don't want to insure children. Representative Emanuel says, "Those who opposed this bill can face the voters and explain why they believe 10 million kids should not get health coverage."
The fact that the SCHIP debate is a hot topic, as well as almost fully partisan in Washington, makes it an interesting things to watch, to see how voters respond in the 2008 election.
