Bush vetoed a proposed healthcare bill meant to expand children’s health coverage. It is only the fourth time that Bush has used his veto power, says the BBC. Bush vetoed the bill because he felt that it was inconsistent with the intended nature of the bill. He felt that it would cause people whose children were insured to take advantage of the bill, causing greater expense. This bill, however passed the Senate with a strong majority.
I think that this was a bad choice for Mr. Bush to make. Giving healthcare to poor children is a wonderful idea. I think that everyone should have government healthcare, but that probably won’t happen for a while. The least that this country should have is health coverage for 10 million poor children, as this bill proposed. Mr. Bush also thought that the bill was too expensive.
Ah well, I guess President Bush isn’t going to go down in history as one of our most loved presidents anyways, but I’d like to think that he would like to rectify his image in some small way. I think that approving this bill would have helped public opinion of Bush. Public opinion probably doesn’t matter much to Bush anymore now because he isn’t going to be in office for very much longer.
The other times that Bush used his veto power were to block legislation that would remove federal restrictions on stem cell research (twice) and to stop a bill linking war funding with a timetable for the removal of troops from Iraq. I think that all these issues should not have been vetoed. Stem cell research is a very promising area that I believe should be looked in to as a potential treatment for various diseases. I also think that the U.S. has done most of what it can for Iraq. Troops need to be phased out of Iraq speedily. I don’t think suddenly pulling all troops out of Iraq at one time is a good idea, but a rapid staged removal would be better.
Bush Vetoes Child Healthcare Bill
By The Lady Jessica - Posted on October 5th, 2007
I can see how it would be expense, hence the reason why he vetoed. We don't even have enough money to pass good, affordable health care for adults, let alone children. But maybe if we weren't fighting a war that isn't really going anywhere, we would have that money.
(wow, I just noticed that's a really bold statement...)
Although I agree with you that young children should be provided with some sort of healthcare, I do not think that this is a wise action to take as the United States is currently involved in a war overseas. Thus, we should only pursue one course of action. Since the US is currently in the war, then we should not invest in something before the war has ended.
Hmmm.... It is interesting that both comments previous to this one refer to the situation in Iraq as a war, though the war was technically over in May of 2003 - two months after it began.
This may be close-minded of me, but I don't think that the 'war' should have negative consequences for young children in the U.S., especially poor young children.
I also don't think the U.S. should have invaded Iraq in the first place. There was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction, and therefore no valid reason to go to war with Iraq.
But Iraq is another subject for another blog.
Oh it made me furious when I read about this. First of all, we needed to get out of Iraq years ago. There is absolutely no reason for us being there. IT would be better to remove the troops immediately, than to waste any more time and money there. But it's not just the war that's taking money away from more important issues. For decades, the U.S. government has been putting billions more dollars into the military than in education and health care. Why do we have new jets every couple of years, instead of better, cleaner, and more advanced public school systems? Why is it that every other Western culture has socialized health care and we do not? Why do we feel that the military is more important than our children? And not just poor children. I'm in college and I certainly cannot afford health care. My mother's an immigrant and thanks to Bush she is no longer covered. She has spinal stenosis and has to spend $100/month on pain meds, that should be free to everyone who needs them. It's not fair and it makes me really disappointed to be in this country anymore.
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--The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return--