During the President’s press conference this morning, he accused Democrats of “putting poor children at risk” in order to score political points. Unfortunately, the accusation is absurd since the Democrats intend to submit legislation to expand health care to more children through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) program.

In reality, the Democratic proposal is to expand SCHIP by $35 billion dollars and the President is threatening to veto the legislation…arguing that the expansion of the program “is a step toward federalization of health care”. The President believes the proposal would allow states to offer health benefits to families which already have private insurance. Lacking in his analysis is any recognition that the added funds will provide needed health care to many children who lack coverage.

Apparently the President believes some children who lack health insurance aren’t poor enough to warrant coverage. I guess trying to provide health insurance to more Americans makes the actions of the Democrats a political stunt. Conversely, wouldn’t a presidential veto suggest the same of George Bush?

Further, if SCHIP’s goal is to help those in need, then the actions of the Democrats is in keeping with the intent of the legislation…and the President’s actions are in keeping with his propensity for drawing arbitrary distinctions out of thin air. In this particular case, the President ought to admit that his own political ideology trumps his assertions of compassion.

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program is set to expire Sept. 30. Democrats are pushing for a $35 billion spending increase for SCHIP, and Bush has threatened to veto it. He has proposed a $5 billion increase.

SCHIP is a state-federal partnership designed to provide health coverage to families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private coverage. More than 6 million people, primarily children, participate.

“The president hides behind the word ‘federalization’ because his political base opposes doing what is decent and humane,” said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. “The Senate and the House both approved legislation that would extend health care coverage for poor kids, not cut it back.”

“Instead of expanding SCHIP beyond its original purpose, we should return it to its original focus, and that is helping poor children, those who are most in need,” Bush said. “And instead of encouraging people to drop private coverage in favor of government plans, we should work to make basic private health insurance affordable and accessible for all Americans.”

The problem with the above statement by the President is that insurance isn’t becoming more affordable and he would be hard pressed to identify any tangible measures in place to do so. As such, more families are unable to purchase health insurance and the trend will continue as long as health care costs outpace increases in income. Further, those on the lower end of the income scale typically see their income levels rise far slower than all others…leaving them all the more vulnerable.

Lastly, I find it rather disingenuous for this President to lecture us on compassion when he enacted one of the largest tax cuts in recent history…tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefited those at the top of the income scale. If he’s actually committed to helping those in need, why not reduce the tax cuts in order to expand the SCHIP funding. I guess compassion for this president comes to a sudden halt when it requires those who have to give to those who have not.

Cross-posted at Thought Theater