And that's exactly what they should do - ignore politics and take care of those kids.
The 10-year-old CHIP provides health-insurance coverage to children whose family income is too high to qualify for Medicaid but not high enough to pay insurance premiums at work or on their own. It expires Sept. 30.
Before adjourning for summer recess, the Senate passed a reauthorization bill that would expand the program by $35 billion; the House was more generous - and realistic - granting an additional $50 billion. Both would extend the program to millions more children than are currently enrolled. Utah's Sen. Bob Bennett and Reps. Chris Cannon and Rob Bishop, all Republicans, shamefully voted against CHIP. To their credit, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, one of the original CHIP sponsors, and Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson voted for it.
The president says he will veto any compromise that expands CHIP by more than a paltry $5 billion. If Bush ignores the needs of children and makes good on his veto threat, states may have to freeze enrollment.
But Congress must not let that happen. Failing to reauthorize CHIP in time to avoid any coverage gap, while the U.S. spends $12 billion a month on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, would be unconscionable. This exemplary program protects children who otherwise would not get treatment for diseases or injuries until they reach an emergency state with long-term health consequences. That is no way to care for the most vulnerable Americans caught in our health-care crisis. Thousands more poor children become uninsured every month, and only CHIP offers them a critical safety net.
The number of uninsured Utah children has grown 26 percent since 2005. CHIP enrollment has not kept up, due partly to the Legislature's stinginess, but in many cases because parents don't know their children are eligible.
To counter that, health workers will travel in a CHIP-mobile van to all of Utah's 29 counties to reach those who can qualify for the 21,400 slots still available (check schedule at www.health.utah.gov/chip). Barring a Bush veto, the health care of those children, at least, would be secure under CHIP's umbrella.
