In recent months, NMPIRG, along with other members of U.S. PIRG, our national federation, joined the fight to extend health insurance to millions of American children whose families can’t afford it.

Late in 2007, Congress twice passed bills that would expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) only to see both bills vetoed by President Bush.

The bills would have extended coverage to 10 million children—about 4 million more than are covered by the current program. However, SCHIP proponents fell 20 votes short of what we needed to override the president’s vetoes. The $35 million cost would have been covered by an increase in the tobacco tax. Altria (the parent of Phillip Morris) and other tobacco companies fiercely opposed the move, as they have opposed similar state-level plans.

In Oregon, for example, the industry spent $20 million last fall to defeat a PIRG-backed Healthy Kids Initiative on the ballot.

“This idea had strong bipartisan support. If President Bush won’t stand up for kids, we’ll need to find a way to help uninsured kids through another outlet,” said U.S. PIRG’s Steve Blackledge.