Fight over children's health program singles out key Republicans in House

WASHINGTON - The national showdown over children's health insurance is coming soon to a radio or TV set near you.

With a week to go before Congress attempts its first successful override of a Bush administration veto, liberal activist groups and labor unions are mounting a $1 million national ad campaign to shore up support in the House.

Their main target in Minnesota, Rep. Michele Bachmann, has taken to the radio waves herself, calling in to a conservative Twin Cities talk show to say, "If they wanna take this fight on, I say, 'Bring it on.'"

Bachmann is one of two Republican House members from Minnesota who voted against the $35 billion expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, commonly known as SCHIP.

The other is Rep. John Kline, a third-termer who is not among the ads' targets. Bachmann, a freshman facing her first reelection contest next year, is one of 34 Republicans nationwide facing the weeklong ad blitz running up to the Oct. 18 override vote.

The radio ads, which begin today, are funded by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). They criticize Bachmann for her decision to support war funding while opposing expanded health care for lower-income children.

Americans United For Change, an antiwar group that ran TV ads against Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., this summer, plans to start TV ads against Bachmann on Thursday.

The nationwide ad campaign, featuring children and their mothers, could be a bellwether for the coming year's biggest domestic policy battle -- and for next year's elections.

Bachmann told radio listeners on Jason Lewis' KTLK Radio show last week that she expects liberal activists led by MoveOn.org to use the SCHIP fight to "beat up on me."

Bachmann's office declined repeated requests for comment.

Republicans note that while the Democrats' labor allies are targeting Republican House members, they have stayed away from the eight Democrats who also voted against the new SCHIP bill, including Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.

Kucinich, easily one of the most liberal members of Congress, said he voted against the bill because it doesn't go far enough to provide insurance for legal immigrants.

Spokeswoman Natalie Laber declined to say Tuesday whether Kucinich would flip his vote to help Democrats, who are about two dozen votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto.

The House approved the SCHIP expansion Sept. 25 by a vote of 265 to 159, with 45 Republicans joining the Democrats. Among those was Minnesota's Jim Ramstad.

The Senate passed the bill two days later with a veto-proof margin of 67 to 29. Both Minnesota Sens. Coleman, a Republican, and Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, supported the SCHIP expansion.

Coleman said he would vote to override the veto, if it comes to that. But first comes the more difficult test in the House.

Coleman has been critical of the ad campaign's pressure tactics, calling for negotiations between the White House and Democratic leaders.

Democratic leaders seem opposed to a deal, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada telling reporters: "You cannot wring another ounce of compromise out of this."

Bush's allies, including Bachmann, have cited the hefty cost of the expanded program, as well as what they consider an unwarranted government intrusion into the private health-care market.

Whether the ads succeed in bringing the two-dozen votes the Democrats need to override Bush's Oct. 3 veto, they are at least hoping to set the stage for an election-year issue that could pay dividends at the polls.

There are an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 children without health insurance in Minnesota, which has one of the highest rates of health coverage in the nation. The state insurance program for children, MinnesotaCare, is supplemented partly by SCHIP dollars, which are largely used to provide insurance for the parents of children covered by MinnesotaCare.

SCHIP covers nearly 7 million children across the country and has become a mainstay of coverage for parents who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, which covers the poorest children.

Both Bachmann and Kline say they support a more modest expansion of SCHIP.

Sponsors of the national ad campaign, including the AFL-CIO, AFSCME and MoveOn.org, make no bones that they consider Bachmann a legislative target who could be susceptible to public pressure.

"We're actually trying to win this vote," said Jeremy Funk, a spokesman for Americans United. "We're using our resources where they can do some good."

Kevin Diaz • 202-408-2753

Kevin Diaz • kdiaz@startribune.com