Rep. Issa casts vote against kids' health

Despite the strong pleas of constituents in Fallbrook and surrounding areas, Rep. Darrell Issa abandoned our children and voted against the highly popular and desperately needed State Child’s Health Care Program (SCHIP).

In effect for more than a decade, SCHIP is one of those success stories that should be promoted rather than dropped. Despite the negative votes of Republicans Issa, Brian Bilbray and Duncan Hunter, the bill passed by a small majority on August 1 and now will go to the president, who vows he will veto the bill. Democrats cannot muster enough votes to override Bush’s veto. Thus, corporatist ideology will triumph over sanity.

This program provides healthcare for children of families who cannot afford the high cost of medical insurance. Any Fallbrook parent who has ever had to take a child to the emergency room knows it is nearly impossible for the working middle and poor classes to pay out of pocket, yet the “compassionate” Issa voted against the safety net for such kids. Issa’s world is a frightening place for families.

The program’s annual costs are less than one week of the Bush War in Iraq. Just last week Congress approved the 2008 Pentagon budget of $460 billion, with an increase of $40 billion. He also promised nearly $40 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel. However, he said, “The nation cannot afford [SCHIP].”

Bush has literally chosen the financial interests of health insurance companies over the needs of 4.1 million children – and he justifies it by saying he doesn’t want to raise a tax on cigarettes? The cruel irony is that these same children whom Bush and Issa abandon are the ones who will have to pay off Bush’s trillion-dollar war debt. Shame on Darrell Issa.

Joe H. Crews