Fight Urged on Insurance Bill

In Northern Virginia, Reps. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) and James P. Moran Jr. (D) voted in favor of SCHIP.

Kaine and Democrats are focusing their efforts on the state's six GOP members of Congress who voted against the bill, including Rep. Thelma D. Drake, who represents Virginia Beach.

In a statement last week, Drake said she opposed the legislation because Democrats are trying to "move this country one step closer to the vision of government care."

Drake said middle-class families would be given the incentive to drop their private insurance to participate in SCHIP if the program were expanded.

"When we lose sight of our original mission, ensuring that needy children receive health care, we are doing a disservice to the children and families that this program was intended to help," Drake said.

Kaine disputed suggestions that expanding SCHIP would benefit families who can afford insurance.

Currently, most of the families served by SCHIP in Virginia have annual incomes of $20,000 to $27,000, Kaine said.