Bush is Going is Going to Veto Pay Raise for Troops

What's it going to take for people to wake up and realize "President" Bush has absolutely no interest in preserving what this country was founded on?

First he vetoes health insurance for poor kids, not once, but twice and now he wants to veto legislation, the Defense Authorization bill, that's already passed Congress. The extremely small pay raise, 0.5% out of the 3.5% the troops had expected, will be completely removed if Bush follows through and vetoes this bill. This "raise" doesn't even begin to compensate the troops for the hell they are trudging through over in Iraq, many of whom, if lucky enough to make it out alive, will come home either physically or mentally injured, sometimes to the point of no return.

Bush's objection centers on his fear of "massive liability in lawsuits concerning the misdeeds of the Saddam Hussein regime," from his father's war. It's strange that this is the first we're hearing of his concerns regarding this bill when clearly this legislation has been around long enough for President Bush to protest anything he found questionable long before this.

"The administration should have raised its objections earlier, when this issue could have been addressed without a veto. The American people will have every right to be disappointed if the president vetoes this legislation, needlessly delaying implementation of the troops' pay raise, the Wounded Warriors Act and other critical measures." -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a joint statement.

Senator Biden, the only Presidential contender with a specific exit strategy, criticized President Bush yesterday for his veto of the Defense Authorization Conference Report and called on him to immediately begin implementing the Biden-Brownback Resolution, the main provisions of the amendment urging the U.S. government to assist Iraq in devolving power from the central government.
“Yesterday’s tragic events in Pakistan underscore the sobering effects of our failed policy in Iraq. As I’ve said, when President Bush abandoned Afghanistan to go to war in Iraq, it sent a message to Musharraf that the U.S. might not be there to protect him.

Ending the war in Iraq would allow us to go after al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and assist the Pakistani moderates in taking control of their country. And it would allow us to get our sons and daughters out of the middle of Iraq’s civil war.

Just moving to enact the Biden-Brownback resolution would bring the international community into the cause of long-term peace in the region. And we would further stabilize the region by committing to the bill’s provision that the U.S. foreswear any long-term military bases in Iraq.

This war must end and the Biden-Brownback resolution is the key to that endgame. It is essential that the President sign this provision as soon as possible and help the Iraqis implement the federal system called for in their Constitution." -- Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Chairman of the senate foreign relations committee

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President Bush's Hidden Agenda

There is no doubt in my mind that President Bush's hidden agenda is to give the working class a break. Possibly, he's thinking ..."What the hell...this country already owes more than $9 trillion...so, why not give all these hard working Americans a chance to relax? After all, isn't that the reason Medicaid and other federally funded domestic programs were created? If it gets to expensive, we can always pull the plug. Look at all the North Koreans, they seem happy that "Big Daddy" is taking care of them."

Ten years ago, State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was created to cover kids whose parents work but can't afford health insurance on their own. Millions of children were and are covered under this program. But there are still a whopping 9.4 million more children that are still living without health coverage in America. President Bush wants to veto SCHIP which would add millions more to that number.

Currently, in most states, the income cutoff to qualify for SCHIP is twice the federal poverty level or about $41,000 for a family of four...I'll call them the Schippers. The Schippers earn $41,000 per year which is meager income to meet their needs even without having to pay for health insurance on their own. If you add the expense of an average policy, about $12,000 per year, the Schippers spiral down to just above the poverty line.

The average insurance policy that the Schippers purchased, many would argue, is insufficient to safeguard the family, should one of the Schippers experience a health problem requiring a great deal of medical care .

Considering so many families, like the Schippers, spend most of their waking hours contributing to the labor force but are living near the poverty line anyway, the Bush Administration's message is loud and clear,

"Stop working! It's not worth it. We'll take care of you."

It seems as if President Bush is even further to the left than the most liberal democrat on this issue...perhaps, "Socialist" would be a more appropriate label.

Resources for the uninsured:

Cover the uninsured.
Voice for the uninsured.
eHealthInsurance
NSCL Resources

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Will Bush Veto the "American Dream"?

The "American Dream", the idea that one's prosperity depends upon hard work, not rigid class structure, will be all but non-existent if President Bush vetoes SCHIP.
This administration has worked very hard to eliminate the idea of America as the "land of opportunity" and destroying this program will most certainly send the message that the "American Dream" will not be possible to most Americans.

Even some Bush supporters, such as Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) think Bush's plan to veto a bill that would extend health insurance to children of the people who fall slightly above the poverty line, is outrageous.

These are children of working-poor parents who are trying to work but don’t have the money to get health insurance. It’s hardly welfare."

SCHIP covers the families that are doing exactly what the Republicans preach...they are working hard...damn hard! They are not failing the standards of social and personal responsibility.

Why is Bush penalizing the already responsible? Does he want the people who work two, sometimes three jobs just to stay off welfare to quit one or both of their jobs so they qualify for health insurance? The President is not only vetoing the health insurance program he is in directly opposing what America stands for; he is making sure that Americans who work hard have very little chance of becoming successful.

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President Bush Will Veto Plan to Expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program

Mr. Bush plans to veto expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program because it does not include any of his proposals to change the tax treatment of health insurance to make it "more affordable" for many Americans. Not to mention, some Americans may give up their private insurance to go "on the dole".

Whether Mr. Bush's prediction that a few children may slip in under government radar turns out to be true or not, all eight million children, about to lose their health insurance at the end of September, will know, is that the country they pledge their allegiance to every morning, the government of the People, by the People, and for the People, very clearly, does not include them.

The proposal would increase current levels of spending by $35 billion over the next five years, bringing the total to $60 billion. The Congressional Budget Office says the plan would reduce the number of uninsured children by 4.1 million.

The new spending would be financed by an increase in the federal excise tax on tobacco products. The tax on cigarettes would rise to $1 a pack, from the current 39 cents.

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