IN-9: Hill To Vote To Override

He explains it all in a letter to a constiuent posted on Open Left;

Dear _____,
Last week the President vetoed H.R. 976, The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007. I am disappointed that a more balanced State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill was not put forth. As such, I strongly implore the President and Democratic Leadership to work together to craft a bill that ensures equitable benefits for all states, as well as an expansion of the program.

From the very start of this debate, I have been fighting to ensure that Indiana receives its fair share of government funding. For far too long, Hoosiers have been major contributors to the federal government without receiving an equitable share of the benefits. We've seen this time and time again in the areas of transportation and housing funds. As your elected representative,

I will fight to protect all of our precious resources, and that includes the tax dollars of my constituents. Our nation will never truly move toward real change and reform if the mechanisms in place to fund those reforms are not solid and equitable to those paying for them.

However, providing healthcare for our nation's children is simply too important to abandon. Therefore, even though I know the veto will be upheld, I will vote to override the President's veto in an effort to again show my support for the program and desire to move towards a fairer bill.

I want to once again be very clear that I fully support the SCHIP program. Guaranteeing access to health insurance for all children is not only a worthy goal, but it is the right thing to do. In fact, I have consistently supported the SCHIP program during my previous terms in Congress, and recently voted to reauthorize the program through November 16th of this year.

We must not lose sight of the fact that the longer this issue remains unresolved, 4 million children will continue without access to health insurance. As this process moves forward, I will continue to push for changes to the bill that addresses my concerns.

Sincerely,

Representative
Baron P. Hill
Ninth District of Indiana
U.S. House of Representatives

Hill was one of the few Democrats to vote against the bill.

In related news, Hill is facing the guy he defeated last year, lost to in 2004 and defeated in 2002; Republican Mike Sodrel.

Sodrel one once before in a Presidential year, although his victory was alot smaller than Hill's two victories, if not for the Libertarian nominee last year, Hill might have lost. Slight Lean Democrat