The only member of the Iowa congressional delegation to vote against an increase in funding for a children’s health program says there are not enough votes in the House to override the President’s veto of the bill. A vote is scheduled for Thursday.
Fifth District Congressman Steve King says the 35-billion-dollar increase in the S-CHIP program would allow more adults and illegal immigrants to reap health benefits from it, and that prompted him to rename the program.
"You know, people ask me what S-CHIP stands for, and that is the State Children’s Health Insurance Program," King said in a call with reporters today, "but I think it also stands for Socialized Clinton-style Hillary-care for Illegals and their Parents." King says the health benefits from the program are not going to the children living in poverty for which they were intended.
"This has gotten so far out of proportion that, for example in Minnesota, 87 percent of those who are on S-CHIP are adults, not children," King said. "We need to reform this program, we don’t need to grow it out of proportion and distort it. And we don’t need to lay the cornerstone of socialized medicine."
King says a compromise needs to be reached that would reduce the number of families eligible for S-CHIP from 300% of the poverty level. He says that means Iowa families of four making more than $77,000 a year can take advantage of it.