House and Senate negotiators have agreed to an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) that closely mirrors the earlier Senate version. The House is scheduled to vote on the package today, Sept. 25, with the Senate voting later in the week. President Bush has promised to veto the bill.

Sens. Jim Webb (D-VA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) have sponsored a bill (S. 1825) that would set up a commission to investigate and reform wartime contracting. It is likely the bill will be introduced as an amendment to the Defense Reauthorization Act that is currently being debated in the Senate. OMB Watch has sent a letter of support to Congress urging adoption of Webb's potential amendment. The Project on Government Oversight, Government Accountability Project, and Taxpayers for Common Sense also support the bill.

The U.S. Census Bureau released its annual report, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States 2006 on Aug. 28. The report, which covers the most recent Current Population Survey (CPS) data, showed slight overall improvement in income and poverty, but continued declining rates of health insurance coverage. The headline numbers — a 0.7 percent increase in median household income and a 0.3 percent decline in poverty — are undermined, however, by the underlying story that middle- and low-income working Americans are not seeing substantial gains from the current economy.