Update: Vote to cut children’s health program fails vote…

By a slim 50-48 margin (with two members not voting), the U.S. Senate blocked a proposal by the Trump Administration to cut $15.4 billion out of the $1.3 trillion federal spending bill Congress passed in February. The administration request called for about half – $7 billion – of the requested cut from funds earmarked for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.

The president’s proposal used a rare policy tool called “rescission”, which calls for funds earmarked for a purpose to not be spent by the government. Presidents rarely submit rescission proposals – the last one to do so was Bill Clinton.

Of the $7 billion in cuts to CHIP appropriations, approximately $2 billion had been set aside for the Child Enrollment Contingency Fund, which protects children in cases when their state of residence runs out of money for CHIP coverage.

The vote in the Senate fell mostly along party lines, with Republicans mostly in support and Democrats opposed. There were, however, two Republican defections: Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Richard Burr of North Carolina.

Opinion: Children’s health program needs support, not cuts

Not more than six months ago, the federal government for the first time in decades failed to re-authorize the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides affordable health coverage for about 9 million children in the United States. Child advocates breathed a sigh of relief a few months ago when Congress finally reauthorized the program.

Now, CHIP is again the subject of efforts to curb federal spending. This week, President Trump announced an effort to cut $15.4 billion out of the $1.3 trillion spending bill Congress passed in March, using a process called “rescission”.

Budget rescission – used by Congress itself but rarely by presidents (Clinton was the last to do so) – is when money that has been appropriated but not spent is withdrawn. Read more “Opinion: Children’s health program needs support, not cuts” →