House Republicans, get bent.
That goes for you, too Mitch McConnell, standing on the Senate floor and actually having the gall to say that Democrats are "playing political football with the health care of our children." That they're "threatening to turn their backs on those children and shut down the government while they're at it over the entirely unrelated issue of illegal immigration."
You wouldn't believe what he says next. "Last year the Senate finance committee unanimously agreed on a proposal to extend S-CHIP by five years. The continuing resolution we expect to take up will extend it for six with no partisan attachments. It shouldn't be a difficult vote."
Gee, I wonder who is in charge of deciding what bills go to the floor in the Senate.
A five-year extension bill—with no partisan attachments—would have sailed through the Senate last September. But McConnell wouldn't hold the vote. He had to do tax cuts instead. Worse, he purposefully held the vote back knowing he could use this 9 million kids as leverage for the upcoming spending and immigration fights.
McConnell and Ryan are the only ones holding a gun to the heads of CHIP kids, and their fellow Republicans are happy to admit that. Even their addled president gets that this is not a good look for them.