Washington -- U.S. Representative Barbara Cubin (R-WY) voted today to sustain President Bush's veto of H.R. 3963, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007. The bill was the Democrats second failed attempt at reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

"It is unfortunate, but telling, that Democrats in Washington would rather revisit last year's political battles than compromise and address pressing issues facing our nation," Cubin said. "Today a housing crisis looms across America, we have a broken immigration system and in less than two weeks a critical anti-terror law that closes loopholes in our intelligence laws will expire, yet the Democrat Majority continues to play political games with children's healthcare. The people of Wyoming – and the entire country – deserve better."

On December 12, President Bush once again vetoed a Democrat bill to reauthorize and expand SCHIP. By law, when the President vetoes a bill brought before him, a 2/3s Majority of the House of Representatives must vote to override his decision in order to pass the bill into law despite his disapproval. Cubin voted with the President today refusing to override his decision and the House upheld the President's veto by a vote of 260 to 152.

Cubin voted against the Democrats’ first reauthorization bill, a $50 billion program expansion, when it came to the floor of the House last August. The bill passed and the President subsequently vetoed the measure. Cubin voted to uphold the President's veto in October and the Democrats were forced to craft a new bill.

The new bill the President vetoed included a $35 billion program expansion that makes health insurance paid for by hard-working taxpayer dollars available to illegal immigrants and upper-income families. The bill would also shift an estimated two million children from private insurance coverage to government run health insurance, putting important health care decisions into the hands of Washington bureaucrats.

To fund this expansion, Democrats included a tax hike on tobacco products and have been forced to use budget gimmicks to comply with their own rules requiring that any new spending is fully offset. The legislation schedules an 84 percent reduction in program funding five years down the road, leaving the burden of paying for the expansion on the shoulders of a future Congress.

Recognizing the need for a responsible reauthorization of SCHIP, Cubin joined colleagues in the House of Representatives in introducing H.R. 3888, the More Choices, More Children Act of 2007. This socially and fiscally responsible bill would fully reauthorize the current SCHIP for children under 200% of the federal poverty level as originally intended by the program, provide tax credits to families with higher incomes to help them purchase the coverage that best meets their needs and create a Commission to give grants to states with the most innovative solutions to covering their state's uninsured.

At the end of December, Republicans and Democrats agreed to continue funding SCHIP at present levels through March 31, 2009. This agreement will ensure that children already receiving health care coverage through SCHIP will not be left without insurance while Democrats waste valuable time re-hashing the SCHIP debate for political gain.