The 111th Congress was expected to quickly pass SCHIP once Barack Obama was in office. The House did (289-139), but the Senate has been stalling -- a vote is expected this week, perhaps today -- but party lines are drawn and the debate has become acrimonious. Today CQ reports that two amendments were vetoed that would require cost-sharing and limit enrollment of legal immigrants.

Shedding light on the enormity of this problem, the Kaiser Family Foundation released its 2009 report (pdf) about Medicaid and the uninsured with implications for SCHIP. Seems that 19 states have expanded access to SCHIP last year, although about 10 imposed restrictions. At least 3.5 million kids could be added to the 7.4 currently enrolled.