The four Republicans in Nebraska’s congressional delegation need to return to our state’s fine tradition of responsible, pragmatic problem-solving when it comes to the controversial issue of providing health care for children.

That means standing up against President Bush’s veto of legislation that would have expanded the successful State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Bush has chosen this issue to draw a line in the sand against the program on the basis of ideology, saying, “I believe in private medicine, not the federal government running the health care system.”

Nebraskans should take a cue from fellow Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, who said, “The bill is not a government takeover of health care. The bill is not socialized medicine. Screaming ‘socialized medicine’ during a health care debate is like shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater. It is intended to cause hysteria that diverts people from looking at the facts. To those of you who make such outlandish accusations, I say, go shout ‘fire’ somewhere else. Serious people are trying to get real work done. Now’s the time to get this done.”

Both the House and the Senate approved the bill by wide margins, including significant support from Republicans. Eighteen Republican senators voted for the bill, enough to override Bush’s veto. Forty-five House Republicans voted for the bill. Fifteen more votes are needed to override the veto.

Admittedly, the measure isn’t perfect. But it’s a decent attempt to address a major health issue.

It is exasperating to remember that Bush was only too happy to embrace the monumental expansion of government into health care when he proposed the prescription drug coverage for the elderly.

Now he turns around and opposes better health coverage for children on the basis of ideology.

This makes no sense. Both programs have a similar basic approach. The prescription drug program subsidizes private insurance. So does SCHIP. Any society that takes better care of grandparents than it does kids has its priorities backward.

At least the legislation to expand SCHIP includes a plan to pay for it by raising the tax on cigarettes. The prescription drug program so far is just getting added to the $9 trillion-and-growing federal debt.

And the stark reality is that consumers are already paying for health coverage for uninsured children. Hospitals can’t turn away sick and injured children. They can’t. That’s the law.

So how do they pay for those costs? Insurance premiums for people who can afford insurance are jacked up to subsidize care to the indigent. If you pay health insurance premiums, you’re already subsidizing health care for uninsured children.

SCHIP is smarter and more efficient because parents could do a better job of providing preventive coverage with regular checkups instead of using emergency rooms or waiting until an illness grew so severe that hospitalization was required.

The Bush administration has made the attention-grabbing claim that it would expand federal coverage to families earning $83,000 a year. That claim is about a single hair short of bogus. Its only factual basis is a request by New York to expand coverage to 400 percent of poverty. In Nebraska the current guideline is 185 percent of poverty. In reality the bill contains disincentives for states that raise the eligibility limit above the federal minimum and incentives for reaching eligible families who are not enrolled.

One central point to remember is that SCHIP is aimed at the working poor; taxpayers already are paying for health care for kids whose parents are on welfare. Expansion of SCHIP is aimed at helping families in which the parents are working but can’t afford health insurance in an era in which health costs are spiraling out of reach.

The health care system in the United States becomes more dysfunctional every year. The Republicans in Nebraska’s congressional delegation need to stop being part of the problem and start working on solutions.