Musgrave ill-serves us

Musgrave ill-serves us

A second attempt by the House of Representatives to override the President's veto of a bipartisan bill to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program failed by 15 votes. As with the first attempt, Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave sided with the president.

From the beginning, Musgrave's dissent experienced a hailstorm of criticism in our district. Considered the most vulnerable to re-election, the House Republican leadership provided her cover by giving her sponsorship of an alternative expansion bill. Its framework replicated a position paper published about the same time by the strongly-conservative Heritage Foundation. Musgrave pretended authorship and broad support (49 Republican co-sponsors) to her constituents. Then, prior to Congressional recess last December, she joined the majority to merely renew SCHIP for another year.

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SCHIP renewal may have given Colorado security in providing health-care services to presently-qualified, low income children for the next two years. However, the absence of additional revenue via expansion through the failed, bipartisan bill is a significant reason our state legislature will table health-care reform this year.

A Blue Ribbon Commission, formed by Republican Gov. Owens in 2006, recently published carefully considered recommendations to dramatically bring health-care costs under control, as well as cover 85 percent of 180,000 Coloradans presently uninsured. In stark contrast to Musgrave's own bill - dormant since being filed - its provisions include SCHIP expansion and subsidization up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level income scale to purchase private insurance.

Congresswoman Musgrave's ruse has ill-served the people of Colorado.

C.J. Black,

Fort Collins