Bush Veto gor Child Health Bill
"US President George W Bush has vetoed a bill to expand a children's healthcare insurance scheme, after it was passed with a large majority in the Senate.
Mr Bush argues it takes the programme beyond its original purpose of insuring children from low-income families.
The vetoed bill proposed higher tobacco taxes to provide an extra $35bn (£17bn) to insure some 10 million children.
Children's health insurance is set to be a campaign issue in next year's elections, analysts say.
Eighteen Republican senators joined Democrats last week in passing the legislation by a 67-29 vote.
But the House of Representatives, which approved the bill by 265-159, was well short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.
It is only the fourth time Mr Bush has used his veto power in the course of his presidency."
Mr Bush argues it takes the programme beyond its original purpose of insuring children from low-income families.
The vetoed bill proposed higher tobacco taxes to provide an extra $35bn (£17bn) to insure some 10 million children.
Children's health insurance is set to be a campaign issue in next year's elections, analysts say.
Eighteen Republican senators joined Democrats last week in passing the legislation by a 67-29 vote.
But the House of Representatives, which approved the bill by 265-159, was well short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.
It is only the fourth time Mr Bush has used his veto power in the course of his presidency."
This is an excerpt from an article to be read on the BBC news website.
US Congress overturns Bush veto
"The United States Congress has for the first time overturned President George W Bush's veto, on a bill authorising spending on water projects.
The Senate voted 79-14 to overturn the veto, after the House of Representatives voted 361-54, well over the two-thirds majority required.
The last time a veto was overridden was in 1998, under President Bill Clinton.
The bill authorises billions of dollars-worth of local projects, many of which Mr Bush says are unnecessary.
It includes funding for coastal restoration in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, improving the Florida Everglades and fisheries in the Great Lakes.
Many local projects, such as dams, sewage plants and beach restoration, are considered important to local communities and therefore to politicians' electors. "
For further information, read the article.
5 comments:
What can we say about that veto power ? With one signature, the president alone can decide of something... I think it's giving a bit too mutch power to the president. But then again, if you need three quarters of the senate to over-rule that veto, only the most important decisions will be taken, and we won't end up with to many regulations. We must remember that we aren't dealing with one country, but with 50 who decided to speak with one voice, but they still have the power to be independent, and take their own decisions. That's why it's called a union, not a single state in fifty peaces. So I think it's a good thing that the Senate hase to be quite united before they can overwrite the pesident's veto. It means that basically every State has to want that particular law.
I think it is a two-third majority in either House which is required to overturn a presidential veto.
After the beginning of the war in Irak, President Bush seems to be very powerful and very strong-minded. It means that when he wants something, he gets it, whatever the price it costs.
And now what? He vetoed a law which could improve poor children's healthcare against the will of his senators... Why? We could ask: is it about money? I don't think so, when we see how much he has given to the army to make the war we can easily say that money is not the problem..
Should we talk about lobbies? The law wanted to increase tobacco taxes to earn money. But the lobby of smoking is one of the most powerful inside the government and for sure this law wouldn't be really good for this particular lobby. Lobbies give to the candidates the money they need to make an electoral campaign. It is hard to imagine a Republican having enough money to make the next crucial presidential campaign without the lobby of smoking... So maybe I was wrong, it is perhaps all about money!
Bush veto for child health bill. He didn't want to sign the bill because he is a republican so he doesn't want to interfer in people's life. They still believe in the americain dream although it is a lure.
Futhermore,he has no problems to find money for the Irak war but he doesn't want to spend money for children.In my view,it is awful.
Not all American people have social security and it is a real problem in the usa.It's time Mr Bush acted for his own people and not for his own business.
To my mind, George W. Bush is wrong to veto this bill which could represent a luck for children who could not benefit from a healthy insurance. Moreover, increasing tobacco taxes could be a good mean to try to decrease the number of tobacco addicts, but is it really the wish of the president?
We can add that it is very amazing to know that George W. Bush refuse to help children by applying this bill because he considers that represents too much money whereas in the same time he asked an open-wallet in wars in Middle-East...
To conclude, I think that it would be better to give a health coverage to more children in the US than spend some money in causes which seems to me not to be worth any longer and where more and more soldiers are risking their lives.
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