U.S. House Vote Short on Children's Health Insurance

The U.S. House of Representatives today failed to override a Presidential veto on the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation. The vote of 273 to 156 fell 13 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed for an override. The bill seeks a funding increase of $35 billion over 5 years for the existing program, while the White House prefers a funding increase of $5 billion. The increase in funding would raise the number of children currently under the program from 6 million to an estimated 10 million.