Senate Rejects Trump’s Bid to Claw Back Funds from Children’s Health Insurance Program
June 20, 2018
By: Andrew Ujifusa
Source: Education Week
The Senate has voted down a push by President Donald Trump to take away reserve funds from the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as part of a broader effort to limit government spending.
On Wednesday, 50 senators voted against a motion to discharge the Trump administration’s rescissions package that would have revoked about $7 billion in money set aside for CHIP, which provides health care to children from low-income backgrounds; 48 senators voted in favor of it. The House approved the package earlier this month by a narrow margin. The rescissions push from the Trump team would not have impacted CHIP’s current payments to states.
Officially, the vote was whether to move the bill to the Senate floor for consideration. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, joined Democrats in voting no.