After returning from the 2007 August recess, U.S. Senators and Representatives passed their versions of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill, a program jointly administered by the federal government and the states that provides health care coverage to millions of poor and eligible children.  Last week House and Senate negotiators reconciled the differences in the two versions and reached a bipartisan agreement on a compromise bill that must now be passed by each body before the legislation can be sent to the President. 

The negotiated compromise bill borrows heavily from the Senate SCHIP bill and does not contain the Medicare cuts proposed in the House-passed version.  The compromise bill includes $35 billion in new SCHIP funds to maintain coverage for the 6.6 million children currently enrolled in the program and allows up to another four million kids to be added. 

A day before the House and Senate agreed on a compromise bill, President Bush reiterated his promise to veto a SCHIP bill that provides more than the $5 billion he requested in his 2008 budget.  The Senate passed its SCHIP bill with a 68-31 vote, a margin that could override a Presidential veto.  The House passed its version about 50 votes short of overcoming a veto, but the current compromise legislation removed contentious components of the House SCHIP bill and could garner more House supporters to provide a veto-proof majority.

With less than a week before SCHIP expires, it is critical to contact your U.S. Representative and Senators now urging their affirmative vote for the bipartisan compromise SCHIP bill.  The House of Representatives and the Senate are expected to vote this week on the final SCHIP bill that will be sent to the President.  There are more than 10 million reasons, America's SCHP-eligible children, to support the compromise. 

Click here for more information and to take action on this issue.  Scroll to the bottom of the linked page to send messages to Senator Patty Murray, Senator Maria Cantwell and your Representative urging their support for the Senate/House negotiated SCHIP agreement.