Tulsa World: Boren to vote to override veto

MAKE US YOUR HOMEPAGE | Saturday, November 21, 2009 | WIRELESS

Home > News > Article

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Boren to vote to override veto

REVELATION

Boren: “I don’t want to be the one to stop this program from going forward.”

By JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau
Published: 10/2/2007 1:57 AM
Last Modified: 10/2/2007 1:57 AM

WASHINGTON -- In an unusual about-face, U.S. Rep. Dan Boren announced Monday that he will vote to override an expected veto by President Bush of a bill to expand a health-insurance program for children.

"It doesn't happen very often when people change their mind on an issue," the Oklahoma Democrat said, adding that he wanted to share his new position with voters. "I just had a real change of heart."

Boren said that change occurred not because of lobbying from any particular group or even Democratic leaders but because he took some time to think about the millions who would not be insured without the bill.

"I don't want to be the one to stop this program from going forward," he said.

Boren voted last week against the bill, which passed the House 265 to 159, because of his concerns over what he saw as a disproportionate burden on tobacco taxes, a revenue stream that he also views as unreliable.

He also questioned the proposed expansion of the bill, which took it beyond its original mission.

Created initially in the 1990s, the program was designed to provide coverage for children whose families made too much to qualify for Medicaid but still could not afford private insurance.

The proposed expansion would allow states to seek waivers to cover families whose incomes are several times the poverty level.

Bush has promised to veto the bill because of its five-year,

$35 billion price tag, which he believes is too costly; its reliance on higher tobacco taxes; and the concern that expanding it would encourage more families to drop private coverage in favor of a government program.

Despite the president's veto threat, the Senate passed the bill with enough votes to override Bush.

The House vote, however, fell about two dozen votes short of the two-thirds needed.

"There is definitely a chance," Boren said of the prospect that supporters of the bill could round up enough votes in the House to override a Bush veto.

"I wouldn't say I'm overly optimistic."

Jim Myers (202) 484-1424
jim.myers@tulsaworld.com

By JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Reader Comments

Show: Most Recent Comment First

Add your comment

12 comments have been made on this story so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

	Report Comment whitecloud, (10/2/2007 8:38:36 AM) Wonder how much it took to get Boren to change his mind? I will have to watch the 'pork projects' inserted into some future bills. Dan Boren has lost any vote from me in the future. What a shame, I sincerely thought he was going to be a man that could not be bought. Oh well, we all make a mistake ever now and then and I mad my mistake by supporting and voting for Dan.
	Report Comment R, Tulsa (10/2/2007 10:52:31 AM) Dubya sucks. He makes bad decisions. He listens to the wrong people. He is a lame duck. He is the worst president we ever had. He makes President Clinton look like an angel. He was bad for our country. He doesn't care.
	Report Comment Willard Roker, Las Vegas (10/2/2007 11:06:10 AM) So what if someone who is up to their neck instead of completely under gets a break? Remember Greed is one of the seven deadly sins.
	Report Comment larryk, rural (10/2/2007 11:11:23 AM) Dan Boren is my congressman. I've been angry with him many times for voting in favor of some of the more bizarre features of the Bush agenda, but I have to give credit where credit is due. Thank you for this vote, Congressman. (But it only makes me wonder what he was thinking about with his initial vote against children's health insurance.)
	Report Comment R, Tulsa (10/2/2007 12:09:47 PM) ONCE AGAIN FOR THE DUNDERHEADS: Dubya sucks. He makes bad decisions. He listens to the wrong people. He is a lame duck. He is the worst president we ever had. He makes President Clinton look like an angel. He was bad for our country. He doesn't care. He certainly didn't act like a Christian or do anything that a good Christian would have done. He is BAD for America. He should have shot Cheney. We should impeach the inept jerk.
	Report Comment Joe, (10/2/2007 1:15:52 PM) This whole problem with the medical issue, for everyone not just children, is that congress won't address the real problem. If they would control the ridiculous prices the medical and pharmaceutical companies charged, we could all afford to get medical treatment. Congress should direct their energy towards this problem instead of raising taxes again.
	Report Comment aj, (10/2/2007 1:27:42 PM) Looks like "R" has been watching too much CNN.
	Report Comment anthony bhal, tulsa (10/2/2007 4:10:03 PM) It is NOT the roll of government to control or give HEALTH insurance. This is not "greed" It us just not the ROll of our gov. And joe, when the gov controlls pricing we all lose. Why would any company invest in new meds or procedures if there was no profit in it? they wouldn't. You see that in our oil now. We have plenty of oil in the states. Why the high prices? tree huggers have the special intrest regs. Thus it is not profitable to build new refinerys and rigs in the US on a large scale. Free Market works when the GOV butts out. I dont like to see small children hurt, However it falls on the shoulders of the Parents who decided to have children to pay for health coverage.
	Report Comment James, Weatherford (10/2/2007 4:30:48 PM) The role of government is whatever we vote for it to do (as long as it is constitutional). Health care falls under the preamble to the constitution very nicely. Everyone needs it -- why NOT make it a government benefit, like every other industrialized nation? I must admit that I still have trouble finding out how to constitutionally justify invading and occupying a sovereign nation that did not attack us, and the bill for that is almost a trillion dollars (and counting). Capitalism, if unregulated, is unfair. There should be reasonable regulations, and we do that with utility companies. Why not with health care?
	Report Comment Bill Hader, Jenks (10/2/2007 6:52:38 PM) James your really a lost person. Anthony has it nailed right on. Do you really want the people that brought you FEMA, IRS, ect to be your health care provider? I think not. Why would our nation want to be like any other nation? we are the best nation in the world, Others want to be LIKE US. And Capitalism unregulated is unfair? That is a real socialist statement. Where is Russia? How is their Health care? Is that what you would like here? Your very sad indeed.
	Report Comment Bill S, Idabel (10/2/2007 7:46:54 PM) James W. Your the one who nailed it. Keep up the good thinking. We need something to counter the nonsense of those who think like Bill from Jenks. And to Congressman Boren; thanks for changing your vote, but what took you so long, and, why do you make such Bushy votes in the first place?
	Report Comment larryk, rural (10/2/2007 7:49:08 PM) Bill Hader: I think that you are the one who is lost. If every nation wanted to be like us, they would all get rid of their national health insurance programs and switch to our system, in which their health insurance is tied to their jobs, which restricts the free movement of labor. Then our (capitalist) insurance companies cherry-pick the healthy people, suck away big profits, and dump anyone who is sick. Of course other nations don't do that because they know that our system is crazy. Their citizens wouldn't stand for it. Medicare works very well. You choose your provider, get the care that your doctor recommends, and your insurer pays the bill. You have a problem with that? Most people on Medicare think it works very well, and has been for forty years. What is wrong with this being part of the role of government? (For Anthony Bhal, that's "role," not "ROLL," just for your information. A "ROLL" is the bread that you eat with dinner. Or it's what you do when you ROLL a ball.) No, I don't want the people who brought us the Katrina fiasco, the war in Iraq, and the dozens of other Bush messes to run our health care system. I don't want them running anything, because they are incompetent idiots. Yes, people come to the US from all over the world to use our doctors and hospitals. We have the best health care in the world, if you can pay for it. But we have tens of millions of people who can't even afford a flu shot because health insurance isn't available to them. Bill, you have an American flag wrapped around your head so tightly that you can't see or hear what's going on around you. That isn't patriotism, it's stupidity.

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.