SCHIP passes in the Senate.

[icarus]

State Children's Health Insurance Program has passed in the Senate.

This is government insurance that covers little kids whose parents don't have insurance. The Republicans tried to limit this program, for reasons that seem to be just petty lockstep obstructionism.

Next week SCHIP moves on to the House, where it will likely pass as easily as a balloon over Kansas.



ETA: Kay Hutchinson broke with Republicans and voted for it. If you're in Texas, please thank her. It's not about lockstep politics any more. It's about getting through this recession.

Comments

[almostinstinct.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow. That restores some of my faith in humanity. :)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Float, float, watch it float through the House.

[tingler.livejournal.com]

Yay!!!

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Right on.

[bramble-rose.livejournal.com]

YAAYY!!! I was Shocked to see that KBHutchinson broke from the Repubs and voted for the bill this time around.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Did she? Good for her. This bill is a smart move, especially in the face of expanding job losses.

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

The thing that kills me is that it is a total money-saver. Kids get less sick because parents take them for medical assistance sooner, so it's less expensive to treat them. Fewer emergency-room visits because kids are taken to a clinic or doctor's office, and as we all know, the emergency room is quite expensive. So why are conservatives against it? IT SAVES EVERYONE MONEY!

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Also, clinics are cheaper and more efficient because they rely on nurse practitioners and general practitioners rather than a miasma of expensive specialists.

[photosinensis.livejournal.com]

Sen. Hutchinson's first name is Kay, not Kate.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Right, right -- Kay.

Good news, eh?

[photosinensis.livejournal.com]

Indeed, it is. I'm a little less embarrassed to be a Texan.

[moiety-tx.livejournal.com]

This.

[venivincere]

Oh, thank you for reporting that piece of good news. I'm still having culture shock, what with all this good news coming out of Washington these days. It seems unnatural, though it's incredibly welcome. Like cool water aplenty to drink and bathe in on a hot, sweaty day.

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Yes it does. I keep expecting everything to crater like it has in the past... but it's not.

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

These days, the world is changed: news from the US do not make me despair; quite to the contrary.

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Man, I hope it all works. I'm really worried. I sit here and look at the news' interpretation of some of the plans and wonder if L and I are going to get screwed because we don't fall into any of the "needy" categories, but we really aren't that well set. It kind of feels like we are in a limbo category. But then when I hear about the items passing one at a time, they sound really good. I hate the news stations.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Most of this stuff is aimed at the middle class. And funding infrastructure, while a long-term commitment that won't boost the economy in the space of just a year, will benefit everyone.

[omglawdork.livejournal.com]

I am impressed and not entirely surprised by Kay Bay's decision to vote for SCHIP. Two reasons: (1) she's been pretty okay about supporting things that are good for our state in the past, and we really need SCHIP around here; and (2) she's making a run at the governor's seat soon, and I can't imagine that "CHILD HATER" is going to help her out. SCHIP's a really popular program here. Still - I am a little surprised (she's pretty hardcore R, usually), and it made me really, really happy. Now I'm just sad that that jackass Sen. Cornyn is going to be our senior senator once she leaves... :(

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

(1) she's been pretty okay about supporting things that are good for our state in the past, and we really need SCHIP around here; and (2) she's making a run at the governor's seat soon, and I can't imagine that "CHILD HATER" is going to help her out.

Ah, that's interesting.

[indusnm.livejournal.com]

Never having been to Kansas, I have to ask- is that easy or difficult?

As time passes, I begin to realize that to be a Republican you have to really be a one-issue voter, and to ignore all other issues when voting for someone. Or maybe, you just have to believe everything the party tells you. There's no other reason, IMO. ANd I say this when I have Republican friends and family members who are the nicest people ever... But I can't talk politics with them or we will never talk again...

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Kansas is as flat as a pancake. Six inches off the ground and you're in the clear.

Or maybe, you just have to believe everything the party tells you.

This. The Republicans on capitol hill in particular have had "team loyalty" drilled into them over the last eight years.

[amalthia]

in a somewhat related note, last week I ran across this article where the republicans were complaining about where would they get the money to fund Obama's bailout plan and that just pissed me off like you wouldn't believe and I felt like answering them, "The same place you "found" the money to pay for the war in Iraq dumbass!"

Seriously....it's okay to spend BILLIONS to help another country build it's infrastructure but not okay to spend that money in the United States?

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

*cheers* Can we post this on a sign on Capitol Hill?