Howard Dean on Bush's SCHIP Veto

This morning, President Bush rejected health care for children. Now it's time for Democrats to reject President Bush.

If we can get 2/3 of Congress to stand up to President Bush, we can overturn his veto on the State Children's Health Insurance Program -- a program that provides health insurance for millions of kids.

We need your help to get those votes.

We've set up a simple tool that will allow you to write a letter and send it to your members of Congress instantly. Send your Senators and Representative a message telling them to stand up to George Bush:

http://www.democrats.org/FightForKids

George Bush made a cold political calculation this morning. He could have signed this bi-partisan bill into law, or he could have pandered to conservatives who didn't want to see the Children's Health Insurance Program get the funding it needs.

He decided to pander -- and millions of kids will suffer for it.

What makes this veto worse is that George Bush will spend billions of dollars in Iraq, some of it on contractors like Blackwater and Halliburton, while denying millions of children needed doctors' visits or medicine here at home.

On top of that, all of the Republican candidates for president support his veto.

Democrats are in the majority for a reason. Send a message to your Senators and Representative and let them know why that is:

http://www.democrats.org/FightForKids

This past week, Graeme Frost, a 12 year old from Baltimore, Maryland, delivered this week's Democratic Radio Address.

Graeme is a brave young man. Three years ago, his family was in a serious car accident. Graeme was in a coma for a week, suffered severe brain trauma, and had to re-learn how to eat and walk.

Graeme is alive today because of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. As he said last weekend:

"My parents work really hard and always make sure my sister and I have everything we need, but the hospital bills were huge. We got the help we needed because we had health insurance for us through the CHIP program.

"I don't know why President Bush wants to stop kids who really need help from getting CHIP. All I know is I have some really good doctors. They took great care of me when I was sick, and I'm glad I could see them because of the Children's Health Program."

Families like the Frosts need your help. You can hear Graeme talk about his experience and send a message to your Senators and Representative right here:

http://www.democrats.org/FightForKids

As a doctor, I've seen our country's health care crisis first-hand.

I've seen parents that have to wait for their kids to get dangerously sick before they could take them to a doctor. I've seen parents struggle over important medical care decisions because they didn't know how to pay for it. And I've seen parents left in poverty because they had no other choice.

But you don't have to be a doctor to understand the importance of health insurance for our nation's kids. Just ask any mother or father whose child has been sick, and they'll all tell you the same thing: that there's nothing more important to them than making sure their kids are healthy.

As governor of Vermont, 96% of the children in my state had health insurance. That's the sort of commitment our country needs -- and the sort of commitment President Bush doesn't have.

The American people elected a Democratic majority last fall to stand up to President Bush's misguided priorities. Remind your Senators and Representative just what the American people stand for.

http://www.democrats.org/FightForKids

Sincerely,
Gov. Howard Dean, M.D.

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