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October 18th the US House of Representatives will take a vote to override the president's veto of H.R. 976, the " Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 ."

With more than four million children from low-income working families, who depend on this bill for their health care needs, must now depend on the vote by Congress to see if there will be millions of children with or without health insurance.

Having a great interest in this piece of legislation and how it will impact my own child's needs, I was impelled to contact Senator Johnny Isakson and Senator Saxby Chambliss requesting their view and expected vote on the 18th.

A statement from Senator Isakson regarding SCHIP.

"I agree with the president that compromising this program and taking money that should go to poor children and spending it on adults is the absolute wrong way to improve this program. SCHIP has proven to be a success in Georgia and across all 50 states, and I would like to see that the program remain true to its original intent – healthcare access for underprivileged children. I will continue to work to reauthorize and expand this program in a fiscally responsible way and in a way that serves the children who need it most."

A response by Senator Saxby Chambliss on SCHIP.

"SCHIP is comprised of separate state programs. In Georgia , PeachCare for Kids is designed to provide comprehensive health care to Georgia children through the age of 18 who do not qualify for Medicaid and live in households with incomes at or below 235 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). In Georgia , a family of four may earn up to $48,500 a year and still qualify for healthcare coverage for their children in PeachCare. On September 27, 2007, the Senate passed H.R. 976, the " Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 . "I had a number of concerns with this legislation and, therefore, I voted against this particular reauthorization. Among other concerns, H.R. 976 would have given states the option of using tax dollars allotted for childrens health insurance to spend on adults; giving states the option of enrolling children in families that earn over $80,000; and increase taxes on tobacco products by $35 billion. Of importance, authorization for the tobacco tax ends in five years with no plan to make up for the inevitable funding shortfall. For these reasons and others, the President vetoed H.R. 976 on October 3, 2007.

My colleague, Senator Lott, sponsored Senate Amendment 2530 to H.R. 976which I voted for. The amendment, titled the "Kids First Act," would have reauthorized SCHIP by focusing on the programs original intent of insuring low-income children. The amendment would have increased SCHIP funding by over 33 percent, thus allowing for the addition of over 2 million new low-income children, and ending the enrollment of adults. All of this would have been accomplished without raising taxes. The amendment failed 61-35.

In addition, I am a cosponsor of S. 2152, also known as the "Kids First Act." This legislation, like the amendment, would reauthorize SCHIP through fiscal year 2012. S. 2152 was introduced on October 4, 2007, and was referred to the Committee on Finance. Unfortunately, there has been no further action taken on this bill.

Given the current stalemate over the fiscal year 2008 appropriations, Congress passed H.J.Res.52, with my support, to fund the government at the current level through November 16, 2007. H.J.Res.52 included funding to protect SCHIP in the interim.

The American people are already overburdened with excessive taxes. This reauthorization bill creates new and additional ones. SCHIP was intended for children, but for every dollar spent on adults through this program, that is one fewer dollar available to a child. I am a staunch supporter of SCHIP and PeachCare, and believe it is imperative that we continue providing quality health insurance for children of Georgia and across the country. Nevertheless, I regret that I could not support H.R. 976. "

With both Senators fighting for the low-income families maybe the message will be heard.