Bush veto threat a sign of bad priorities

I write this in strenuous protest to the apparent priorities of the Bush administration in the field of domestic affairs, priorities that appear guided by the ideology that private industry rather than government programs should rule the day.

The issue at hand is the recent veto of the children's health insurance program (SCHIP) by the president. When the veto was sustained in the House, compromise legislation was passed to respond to the stated concerns in the veto message. Again, Bush threatens to veto the compromise.

An objection to the original legislation was the expense of $35 billion over five years. The compromise funds this by increasing taxes on cigarettes. This appears unacceptable to Bush. Is this because it will tax his friends in private industry, even in an area that is a recognized health issue?

Another objection was the upper limits of coverage in the original bill. This has been lowered in the compromise to respond to that objection. Additional measures in the compromise respond to the concerns raised about young adult coverage, illegal immigrants, etc. Still, there's the threat of a veto.

This threat can only be made for ideological reasons rather than the demonstrated need for this program. A significant majority of state governors publicly support the expansion. The Senate passed the original bill with 67 votes. The current compromise passed the House 265 to 142, not a veto-proof majority.

As the New York Times stated: "The health of millions of children who lack insurance cannot be held hostage to the president's visceral distaste for government and its essential role to protect the weak …"

This issue of $7 billion a year increase for SCHIP comes at the same time Bush is asking almost $200 billion a year for his war efforts. Is our new national posture one of billions for war and nothing for domestic needs?

Royce M. Blackwell

Elgin