Bush’s SCHIP Veto Threat Rejected By His Own Experts

Think Progress reported Wednesday Bush’s Veto Threat Rejected By His Own Experts; Cancer Panel Calls For Higher Tobacco Taxes

"When the Congress passed legislation this month raising tobacco taxes to fund the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), President Bush threatened a veto. Defending the health insurance and tobacco industries, Bush said, ‘If Congress continues to insist upon expanding healthcare through the SCHIP program — which, by the way, would entail a huge tax increase for the American people — I’ll veto the bill.’"

"But in a direct rebuke, the President’s Cancer Panel today recommended that Bush no longer ‘acquiesce to the demands of the industries that encourage’ the ‘disease and death caused by tobacco use.’ Specifically, the panel recommended that the federal government raise taxes on tobacco and more heavily regulate the tobacco industry to ‘weaken’ its influence."

You can probably guess how I feel about smoking.