Dan Boren To Help With Veto Override

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- An Oklahoma congressman will help the effort to override President Bush's expected veto of legislation to expand a children's health insurance program. 2nd District Congressman

Tuesday, October 2nd 2007, 6:28 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- An Oklahoma congressman will help the effort to override President Bush's expected veto of legislation to expand a children's health insurance program. 2nd District Congressman Dan Boren had voted against the measure twice but said Monday he's had a change of heart and believes it's the right thing to do.

Boren was one of only eight Democrats in the House to vote against the $35 billion expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, last week.

The House fell 19 votes short of the margin necessary to override a veto. The Senate approved the bill by a large enough margin to override a veto.

The bill would increase the federal cigarette tax to $1 to provide health insurance to an additional 5.8 million people, mostly children.

Bush has said the expansion would make families with relatively high incomes drop their family coverage and put their children on the public program.

Oklahoma has one of the highest rates of uninsured children in the country.