Statement by the Press Secretary

Today, the House of Representatives passed another State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) reauthorization bill that fails to cover poor children first. This bill does not address in a meaningful way the concerns the President raised, and so he will veto it if it reaches his desk.

The President strongly supports reauthorizing and strengthening SCHIP, and he has reached out to Democrats to find common ground. Unfortunately, the legislation passed today is not an improvement over the bill the President vetoed earlier this month. Instead, the bill still fails to ensure that poor children are covered first, it still allows states to cover adults, and it still raises taxes to move 2 million children from private health insurance to a government-run program.