Children demand "Health care, not warfare"

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called it a “heartless veto,” adding, “Never has it been clearer how detached President Bush is from the priorities of the American people.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, “We remain committed to making SCHIP into law, with or without the support of the president.”

The Democratic leadership is reportedly postponing a vote to override the veto for as long as two weeks to allow grassroots movements time to exert maximum pressure on Republicans and some Democrats to vote to override.

A grassroots coalition convened a Capitol Hill news conference to denounce the veto. Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, told reporters the coalition is staging 200 rallies in cities and towns across the nation Oct. 4 to demand that Congress override.

“With America on our side,” McEntee said, “we’re battling Bush on the budget, a battle to preserve the role of public services that keep our families safe and our communities strong.” McEntee hammered Bush for his endless Iraq war. “If Bush really wants to support the troops he should bring them home and should not block our attempts to get funding for veterans,” he said. (See related story, page 8.)