Gus Bilirakis Puts Politics and Ideology over Children

Today the St. Pete Times weighs in on the SCHIP bill:

This is about ideology and politics, not money. Bush would limit the capacity of a successful program and instead push tax credits to pay for health care, which won't work and has little support in Congress. The low-income families who need SCHIP the most are not going to get their child into the doctor with tax credits.

In the Tampa Bay area, a veteran and a freshman sided with sound policy over partisan politics. Reps. C.W. Bill Young of Indian Rocks Beach and Vern Buchanan of Sarasota were among 45 Republicans who voted for the bill, but that's not enough to help Democrats override a Bush veto. If only Republicans Gus Bilirakis of Palm Harbor, Ginny Brown-Waite of Brooksville and Adam Putnam of Bartow had been as open-minded and could see the light.