Olson on SCHIPs

Since some liberal blogs are ignoring Bob Olson's position on SCHIP's...


ANOKA – Bob Olson, a DFL candidate in the 6th Congressional District, urged Rep. Michele Bachmann to vote to override President George W. Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program funding bill.

"Michele Bachmann's been given a second chance to do the right thing for Minnesota families," Olson said. "She's backed the White House by voting against the bill last month and I understand that's very important to her. Now she needs to stand up for uninsured children."

S-CHIP currently provides insurance coverage for 6.6 million children in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicare and not enough to afford private insurance coverage. But there are still nearly 9 million uninsured children nationwide, including 85,000 here in Minnesota.

"This should really be a no-brainer," Olson said. "Getting children the health care they deserve is something we should all be able to agree on. It's tragic that some of our representatives have joined the president in using this issue to make a political point."

The House is scheduled to hold an override vote on Oct. 18.

Bachmann joined Rep. John Kline in opposing the S-CHIP measure when it passed in the House of Representatives on a 265-159 vote. The rest of the Minnesota House delegation supported it, as did Sens. Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar.

More information is available at www.bobolson.org.

Check out New Jersey Governor John Corzine's response!