TAKE ACTION: Override Bush's Veto on State Children's Health Insurance

WHAT: The U.S. House of Representatives has scheduled a vote for the week of October 15th to override President Bush's veto of the bill to renew and strengthen the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) passed by Congress last month. The bill rejected by the President provides access to proper health care for nearly ten million of the neediest children in our nation. YOU can help override this veto!

ACTION NEEDED: Click on "Take Action" and enter your zip code to send a letter to your Representative. Based on your Representative's previous vote on the bill, you will be taken to a letter where you can either thank your Representative for his/her vote to pass SCHIP and ask him/her to continue supporting the program; or, if s/he voted against improving SCHIP, you can ask your Representative to have a change of heart and seize the opportunity to protect our nation's most vulnerable children.

BACKGROUND: Despite strong support from the U.S. Congress and the American people, President Bush vetoed the SCHIP bill last week. The bill, which passed both the House and the Senate on a bi-partisan basis, would have provided an additional $35 billion over five years to keep children already receiving health care coverage, and to provide insurance to nearly four million more children whose health is at risk due to lack of proper health coverage. The President vetoed the bill not because the funding passed by Congress exceeded the $5 billion over five years that his Administration had requested, but because of ideological differences about how to expand health coverage to poor Americans. The President has, however, recently expressed a willingness to compromise with Congress on renewing SCHIP; thanks to those of you who expressed your disappointment with the White House on this issue. Contacting your Representative will go a long way to shoring up support for this important legislation. Click here for more information on our positions on SCHIP.

Improving public policies that promote the health of our nation's children is a key issue area of Catholic Charities USA's Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America. This month, be take part in the Campaign by calling on our nation's leaders to protect children's health!

For more information, please contact Desmond Brown, Director of Health and Welfare Policy at dbrown@catholiccharitiesusa.org or Christin Driscoll, Senior Director for Policy Development and Advocacy at cdriscoll@catholiccharitiesusa.org.

Thank you for taking action for America's children! Take Action Now!