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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

S-CHIP Showdown: Insurance for Many ND Kids in the Balance

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Monday, October 15, 2007   

Mandan, ND – Kids first, or insurance companies? That's how supporters of the "S-CHIP" children's health insurance program are framing the final days of the battle to override President Bush's veto of a bill that would expand the program. Override backers are hoping personal stories will win the last few votes they need. Among them is Mandan mom Nancy Zander, who says making more families eligible would mean more than just insurance to many North Dakotans.

"The people that don't have insurance, and make too much money for Medicaid, are the people that are suffering. The funds need to be there, so these people can have peace of mind that their children, at least, will be taken care of."

One reason President Bush vetoed the bill was because he believes insurance companies would lose business if families replaced private coverage with the state's "Healthy Steps" program. Zander says Bush should also think about the small business owners who are, as she puts it, 'one sick child away' from financial disaster.

"One of us is self-employed, and that's where the main money comes in. If anything would happen, we could lose our business."

The override vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, which will happen as early as Thursday this week, is expected to be close; North Dakota Congressman Earl Pomeroy's office reports he is, "100 percent for it."

Estimates of the number of North Dakota children who would be helped by the legislation range from 1,200 to 6,000. Last week, 33 local groups including http://ndpeople.org, the Children's Caucus, AARP, and church and labor organizations called for Congress to, in their words, "side with children, not the President."


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