House Fails to Override Veto of Children's Health Bill

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 — Supporters of a bill to provide health insurance for 10 million children failed this afternoon, as expected, to muster enough support in the House to override President Bush’s veto.
The vote to override the veto was 273 to 156, or 13 votes short of the necessary two-thirds majority of those present and voting; the bill was originally approved by a 265 to 159 vote on Sept. 25.
The main suspense before today’s vote was over how many Republicans would side against President Bush. Forty-four House Republicans voted for the bill today, compared to 45 on Sept. 25.
Democrats had anticipated defeat, and Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate majority leader, immediately issued an angry statement.
“Each Republican who voted to uphold President Bush’s heartless veto should be embarrassed that he chose to stand in the way of improving the lives of millions of America’s poorest children,” Mr. Reid said. “While we appreciate those who voted to override his veto, there unfortunately remain too many who are all too willing to rubber-stamp President Bush’s shameful policies and succumb to his misinformation campaign.”
Most of the Democratic leadership has shown little inclination to negotiate with the White House, beyond offering to make “tweaks” in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program so the president could “save face,” Mr. Reid put it recently. Democrats in Congress said Wednesday that they would pass a new bill, but were willing to adjust it to address some White House concerns.
Mr. Bush had seemed confident that the
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