The 273-156 vote on Thursday fell 13 short of the two-thirds majority required to overturn a veto. The measure would have added $35 billion over five years to the 10-year-old State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Bush has said the legislation would have provided government health insurance to middle-class families who can afford private coverage. The program, known as SCHIP, has become the focus of a broader national debate over the role of government in providing care to the 47 million Americans who don't have insurance. The administration today asked Democrats who control Congress to negotiate on a version that would put “poor children first.''
“As it is clear that this legislation lacks sufficient support to become law, now is the time for Congress to stop playing politics and to join the president in finding common ground to reauthorize this vital program,'' White House press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement after the vote.
Democrats responded that they wouldn't back down from key provisions of the vetoed measure.
Congressional leaders “will not allow this to deter us from our goal, which is to insure 10 million children in America,'' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said in a press conference. The legislation vetoed by Bush would have increased enrollment in the health program to 10 million children from 6 million currently.