http://www.cqpolitics.com/2007/09/house_democrats_grumble_about.htmlHouse Democrats Grumble About SCHIP Negotiations but Will Support Bill
By CQ Staff | 7:21 AM; Sep. 18, 2007
By Alex Wayne
Some House Democrats are unhappy with concessions their leaders are proposing to make in negotiations with the Senate to renew children’s health insurance, but they are not expected to oppose a final bill.
Negotiations are continuing as House Democrats, having conceded on spending and Medicare issues, press Senate leaders to accept policy that some Senate Republicans don’t like.
Child advocates, lobbyists and Senate aides said last week that House and Senate Democratic leaders have tentatively agreed to a compromise renewal of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) that would expand spending by about $35 billion over the next five years, to $60 billion — matching spending in the Senate version (HR 976).
A tobacco tax increase would pay for the expansion, including a 61-cent increase in the cigarette tax, to $1 per pack — another element of the Senate bill. And the compromise bill would not include a House-passed cut to Medicare Advantage, a program in which insurers provide health benefits to seniors in place of the government, or other Medicare provisions from the House version (HR 3162).
Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., who confirmed the outline of the agreement Monday, is one of the House Democrats upset by those concessions. “I’m very unhappy. It’s not even a compromise. It’s their way or the highway,” he said, referring to the Senate.
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http://www.cqpolitics.com/2007/09/house_democrats_grumble_about.html