October 15, 2007

Call Your Representatives Today in Support of SCHIP Veto Override

Executive Summary

On October 3, President Bush vetoed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (CHIPRA), which would reauthorize and expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). CHIPRA would not only reauthorize and expand this important program for children but also includes a six-month moratorium on the issuance of new rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on both the Medicaid rehabilitative services option and school-based services.

House Democratic leaders have scheduled the vote to attempt to override President Bush’s veto for October 18. While the Senate passed the bill with enough votes to override the veto, the House is 15 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed. The National Council urges all members to contact their Representatives today and ask them to support passage of this important legislation.

Action Needed

The National Council urges all members to contact their Representatives and ask them to support passage of SCHIP. 

To find your Representative’s contact information, go to: www.house.gov or call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. See how your members of Congress voted on CHIPRA.

In particular, the National Council urges you to reach out to the following offices:

Robert Aderholt (AL-4): 202-225-4876

John Boozman (AR-3): 202-225-4301

Brian Bilbray (CA-50): 202-225-0508

John Doolittle (CA-4): 202-225-2511

Marilyn Musgrave (CO-4): 202-225-4676

Gus Bilirakis (FL-9): 202-225-5755

Ginny Brown-Waite (FL-5): 202-225-1002

Tom Feeney (FL-24): 202-225-2706

Ric Keller (FL-8): 202-225-2176

Judy Biggert (IL-13): 202-225-3515

Tim Johnson (IL-15): 202-225-2371

Peter Roskam (IL-6): 202-225-4561

Jerry Weller(IL-11): 202-225-3635

Rodney Alexander (LA-5): 202-225-8490

Joseph Knollenberg (MI-9): 202-225-5802

Thaddeus McCotter (MI-11): 202-225-8171

Tim Walberg (MI-7): 202-225-6276

Michelle Bachmann (MN-6): 202-225-2331

Sam Graves (MO-6): 202-225-7041

Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ-11): 202-225-5034

Scott Garrett (NJ-5): 202-225-4465

Jim Saxton (NJ-3) 202-225-4765

Randy Kuhl (NY-29) 202-225-3161

Steve Chabot (OH-1): 202-225-2216

Greg Walden (OR-2): 202-225-6730

John Peterson (PA-5): 202-225-5121

Kay Granger (TX-12): 202-225-5071

Thelma Drake (VA-2): 202-225-4215

Randy Forbes (VA-4): 202-225-6365

See how your members of Congress voted on CHIPRA.

What Should You Say?

I am calling to urge the Representative to support passage of SCHIP legislation.

Talking Points

• Currently, over 90 percent of children enrolled in SCHIP have incomes at or below twice the poverty level – or $41,300 for a family of four
• The vast majority of children who would gain coverage under both the House and Senate bills would have incomes less than twice the poverty level

Please let the National Council know if you contact your Representative on this issue. Contact Allison Fort at AllisonF@thenationalcouncil.org to let us know you participated and share the response you received.

Additional Resources

Read a summary of CHIPRA, prepared by the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University.

The Senate Finance Committee has prepared a fact sheet entitled “The Agreement to Renew the Children’s Health Insurance Program: Separating Fact from Fiction.” To access this fact sheet online, go to:  

The Annenberg Political Fund Fact Check website has also prepared a piece refuting the President’s claims that CHIPRA would lead to crowd-out and create coverage for children in high-income families.