SCHIP was just renewed again by the US Senate, but the Republican party fought tooth and nail against it. The honorable position should be that all children should have access to health care and medical treatment. But apparently not all lawmakers agree. Since 1997 the SCHIP program has provided health coverage to millions of children who need medical care, as some in Congress wish to deny them basic care, while continuing to blame their parents for being unable to provide that coverage.
President Obama has indicated he will sign the bill, which was approved by both the House and the Senate. The Washington Post reported that the Senate passed the bill by 66 to 32, a more than two to one margin, but still certain legislators on the Republican side felt slighted.
The sticking point for Republicans was a certain provision which allowed legal immigrants to participate in SCHIP. They wanted to keep them from benefitting from the program until after a forced five year minimum waiting period. The last bill presented before Congress had this immigrant provision, but now with a majority and a Democratic president, it was re-added.
Apparently the debate about the provision got a bit heated in the chamber. The addition of the provision was a slap in the face to those who worked strongly with friends on the other side, was a concern voiced by Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah. He believed the bill could have had 95 votes which would have sent a tremendous message that hasnt been seen in Congress for a long time.
Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi questioned whether the real intent of the legislation was to replace private health care with a government run system. Democratic Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois saw it a bit differently, when he advised that the debate was about children's health care, and was not a debate about immigration.
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