A "long-stalled" bill supported by Democrats that would expand SCHIP likely will return to the House floor this fall, and the legislation will become law this year or next year unless the "political winds shift," according to an editorial in The Hill.

According to the editorial, the legislation, which President Bush vetoed last year, is "again a hot topic on Capitol Hill" after 129 House Republicans earlier this month "defied their president" and voted to override his veto of the new Medicare law. "The Medicare bill and the SCHIP measure are very different pieces of legislation," but "they are both high-profile, election year health care bills," the editorial states, adding, "There could be a few vote-changers among the Republicans who are getting nervous about their re-election chances."

The editorial states, "This is not to suggest there aren't valid criticisms of the SCHIP legislation, but the reality is that it is a politically popular bill." The editorial concludes, "Democrats have no doubt played some politics with SCHIP," but "they are in the driver's seat" (The Hill, 7/29).