Washington (eCanadaNow) - U.S.
President George W. Bush will veto a bipartisan plan to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program in the United States, according to media reports Monday.
The Senate Finance Committee, which has spent six months drafting the bill, is expected to release it next early this week, The New York Times reported.
The program is set to expire Sept. 30. The Senate plan would reauthorize it and add $35 billion over five years, insuring an additional 4.1 million children.
The new spending would be paid for with an increase in the federal excise tax on tobacco products. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said senior advisers "will certainly recommend" that Bush veto the measure and "there is no question that the president would veto it."
"Tax increases are neither necessary nor advisable to fund the program appropriately," said Fratto.
The proposal has the support of almost all Democrats, many Republicans and a lot of state governors of both parties.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Bush should stop "playing politics."
