Mississippi’s governor says he wants Congress to rewrite a formula so poor states receive the money they need under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Republican Gov. Haley Barbour and four other governors testified Tuesday in Washington before a congressional subcommittee.

President Bush vetoed a bill last fall that would have put more money into SCHIP. Barbour said that bill would have helped wealthy states at the expense of poor ones.

In Mississippi, SCHIP covers children in families at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. For a family of four, that’s an annual income of less than $42,400.

Barbour says the current federal formula leaves Mississippi $50 million short in SCHIP this budget year.