Moore, Jenkins attacked on SCHIP votes

Members of the Kansas congressional delegation today were criticized for casting votes on the House-passed bill expanding federally funded health coverage for children…

Moran and Moore, as they have in the past, supported expansion of SCHIP. Forty Republicans in the House voted for the bill, with two Democrats opposed.

Ken Spain, director of communications with the National Republican Congressional Committee, blamed Moore — but not Moran — for perpetrating a “true disservice to low-income families” with his vote.

“Dennis Moore prioritized his party loyalty over reaching across the aisle,” Spain said.

Spain said Moore should have backed a measure that would have required states to enroll the poorest of the uninsured children before spending taxpayer dollars on covering higher-income families.

The new version of SCHIP would be paid for with an increase in the federal tax on cigarettes, an boost of 61 cents, to $1 a pack.

SCHIP is set to expire in March. President George W. Bush vetoed previous efforts to reauthorize SCHIP.

About 30 million of the nation’s poorest children receive health care through Medicaid. SCHIP was created in the 1990s to assist families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but struggle to buy insurance for their children.
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