The Oneonta Daily Star chided President Bush for vetoing the Democrats’ $35-billion expansion of SCHIP, a bill that would grant New York families earning up to $83,000 per year government-run health care. With the House expected to take up the measure tomorrow, our eyes will be on Rep. Michael Arcuri.
There’s no doubt that Arcuri will vote to override Bush’s veto, but what he does next could indicate whether he’s going to continue politicizing the debate over children’s health care or work toward a solution. Unfortunately for the residents of the 24th District, Arcuri is likely to play political games.
Rep. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, pointed out that nearly 1,300 children in Otsego County were affected by New York’s version of SCHIP, Child Health Plus.
“As a father,” Arcuri said, “I know the worry parents face when a child gets sick and how critical health insurance is to ensure preventative care. By expanding health care to uninsured children in New York, we can improve access to preventative care, decreasing trips to the emergency room and costly, more severe illnesses down the road.”
Arcuri’s misleading comments fail to inform constituents that Republicans support an reauthorization of SCHIP to cover poor kids, insisting that they come before adults and other middle-income families. But in Arcuri’s socialist fantasy land, he’d like to turn the program into a government-run system that extends far beyond its original intent. Shame on him.
October 23, 2007 at 10:55 pm
[...] on poor children. The congressman has bought into the rhetoric of Washington Democrats and is deliberately misleading his constituents about the program. It’s a shameful act, but one we’ve come to expect from [...]