Bush Vetoes Kids' Health Bill Again

President Bush today vetoed for the second time expansion of a federal program that provides health insurance to poor and middle-class children, the New York Times reports. Bush called the proposed overhaul fiscally irresponsible, because it would cover too many undeserving recipients and raise taxes. Democrats will now try to push through a one-year extension of the bill at its current funding.

“Because the Congress has chosen to send me an essentially identical bill that has the same problems as the flawed bill I previously vetoed, I must veto this legislation, too,” Bush said. The bill would have increased funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program by $35 million over five years and increased beneficiaries from 6 million to 10 million. (More SCHIP stories.)