Boren to back bill on kids' insurance

By Chris Casteel

Published: October 2, 2007

WASHINGTON — Rep. Dan Boren reversed course Monday on legislation expanding the state children's health insurance program and announced that he would vote to override President Bush's expected veto.

Boren, D-Muskogee, who was one of only eight Democrats to oppose the $35 billion expansion last week, said in an interview that he thought about the issue and decided that it would benefit his eastern Oklahoma district, which he called "one of the poorest congressional districts in the country.”

"I was going back and forth about it,” he said. "(The bill) is not what I would have written. But I think there are a lot of kids that are going to be covered under this bill in our district.”

Background

•The bill Boren voted against last week was the House-Senate compromise, which would raise the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents, to $1 per pack, to fund an expansion of the program that helps states pay for health insurance coverage for children.

•Boren also voted against an earlier version of the bill.

•President Bush contends that the expansion is too generous and would lead millions of families to drop their children from private health care plans.

Why he changed his mind

In August, Boren cited the increase in the cigarette tax as the reason he voted against the bill. Last week, he said he also opposed expanding the program to allow families making up to four times the poverty level — nearly $83,000 a year for a family of four — to be eligible.

But he said Monday that his concerns about the income levels were relieved somewhat by the fact that it would be up to states to determine eligibility.

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