CNN's Sylvester misled on House SCHIP bill's effect on budget and its citizenship verification process

SUMMARY: On Lou Dobbs Tonight, Lisa Sylvester uncritically reported that "[f]iscal conservatives ... argue" that a cigarette-tax increase in a House bill expanding SCHIP "will not generate enough revenue to pay for the program." However, Sylvester did not note that a CBO cost estimate of the bill found that it would be "fully offset, primarily through an increase in federal tobacco taxes." Sylvester also aired Rep. John Boehner's claim that "no verification system to speak of is contained in the bill" -- without noting that the bill does include a citizenship verification process in which states would use SCHIP applicants' names and Social Security numbers to determine whether they are eligible.

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