October 17, 2007 Both Parties Have Strengths in "SCHIP" Debate Democrats generally preferred, but Bush's counterarguments have support
by Lydia Saad GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- The Beltway debate over a bill reauthorizing federal funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is moving beyond the attempt to override President George W. Bush's veto -- a vote that is likely to fall short of the necessary two-thirds majority -- to partisan jockeying for control of the ensuing spin cycle. Democrats are highlighting the catastrophic consequences of stripping medical coverage from millions of children, while Republicans are emphasizing the need to work toward a compromise bill that will save the program.
At this point, the Democrats seem to be winning -- though not dominating -- the public relations battle. According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, conducted Oct. 12-14, about half of Americans say they have more confidence in the Democrats in Congress than in Bush to handle the issue. Only one-third of Americans choose Bush, while another 15% have no preference.
That preference for the Democrats reflects Americans' unvarnished perception of the children's health bill. Other questions in the survey that provide information about Bush's arguments against the Democratic bill show more support for his position.
The SCHIP program was established in 1997 as a way to provide health insurance to children who fall into the gap between eligibility for Medicare and being able to afford private health insurance (generally defined as those with incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty line, or about $41,000 for a family of four).
The Democrats' 2007 reauthorization bill for SCHIP, passed earlier this year with bipartisan support, would have more than doubled the current annual budget for the program by raising eligibility to those earning up to $62,000, and nearly doubling the number of children enrolled by 2012. Bush vetoed the bill on Oct. 3 on the grounds that it would provide encouragement for people to leave private health insurance and effectively be a step toward socialized medicine. His proposed alternative would continue funding at the current income level.
When the funding difference between the Democratic bill and Bush's plan is described to respondents (see precise wording of the question below), a slight majority say they prefer Bush's plan.
It should be noted that this question gauges Americans' reaction to the difference in eligibility thresholds for the two plans. A different result might be obtained if respondents were also presented with arguments about the positive and negative consequences of expanding the program.
Americans are also generally sympathetic to Bush's concern about the program leading to socialized medicine. Fifty-five percent say they are very or somewhat concerned that expanding the program would create an incentive for middle-class Americans to drop their private health insurance to enroll in the program. Another 25% say they are not too concerned about this, while only 17% say they are not at all concerned.
Partisan Split
Republicans and Democrats tend to side with their own political leaders in the SCHIP funding debate. But an interesting distinction is seen in levels of support for Bush vs. the Democrats across Gallup's two different measures of the bill to reauthorize the program.
When asked simply whether they have more confidence in Bush or the Democrats in Congress to handle the issue, the vast majority of Democrats (88%) say they have greater confidence in the Democrats in Congress, while a much smaller majority of Republicans (61%) choose Bush.
However, this pattern is reversed with the question asking respondents whether they favor the plan with Bush's income limits or the Democrats' income limits. The overwhelming majority of Republicans (90%) say they favor Bush's plan, while about two-thirds of Democrats favor the congressional Democrats' plan.
Meanwhile, the support of independents shifts between the two questions. A majority of independents say they have more confidence in the Democrats' leadership on the issue, but a majority also says they prefer Bush's side in the income limits debate.
Debate Drawing Moderate Public Attention
Despite the potentially high political stakes involved in passage of the bill, Americans are paying only moderate attention to it. About half are following the story closely, including 17% following it "very closely" and 34% following it "somewhat closely." These attention rates are lower than the average paid to the nearly 200 news stories Gallup has rated since 1991 (with an average of 60% following the stories very or somewhat closely), but are not atypical for public attention to policy issues facing Congress.
There is little to no difference in confidence in Bush vs. the Democrats in Congress or in preference for Bush's vs. the Democrats' income limits, according to attention to the bill.