This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Sen. Orrin Hatch is normally one of President Bush's biggest allies, but the two are at odds over efforts to expand a program giving health insurance to children of the working poor.

Bush repeated his vow Thursday to veto the expansion of Children's Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, because he sees the proposal as "an incremental step" toward government-run health care.

Hatch, R-Utah, lashed back, saying such a charge could be leveled against any health care bill and that Bush was "absolutely wrong" on some of his criticisms.

He said he would be "very surprised and very hurt" if Bush followed through with his veto threat because of lengthy bipartisan efforts to reach a compromise.

Congress and the president have until Sept. 30 to find common ground or more than a million children could lose health coverage.

Bush called for a short-term extension of the program at current funding levels, a move backed by Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, to allow for more debate. Republican leaders in the House have pressed Democrats to keep the program the same through the remainder of Bush's term.

Hatch, one of the original architects of CHIP 10 years ago, said he would accept a one-month extension if he had to. But he still believes a much broader expansion could be ready in just a few days. It would cost an additional $35 billion over five years and it would cover millions more children.

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Hatch now find themselves allied with Democratic leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who rejected any delaying action, saying, "The moment of truth is now."

Hatch says a bipartisan group is close to finishing a deal that he believes will keep together a veto-proof majority in the Senate. Administration officials believe the House would sustain a veto.

Bush wants to increase funding by only $5 billion over five years. He said the compromise unnecessarily raises the cigarette tax, which he called "taxes on working people," to cover the increased spending, allows adults to gain coverage and would benefit children in the middle class who already have private health insurance.

"I believe this is a step toward federalization of health care. I know that their proposal is beyond the scope of the program," Bush said in a news conference. "And that's why I'm going to veto the bill."

Hatch is particularly upset the president said the compromise would provide coverage for children in a family making $83,000 a year.

"The president is absolutely wrong on the $83,000 figure," he said.

An independent assessment of the proposal by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan policy research group, said the vast majority of participants would remain children in families making less than twice the poverty level and only a few states have allowed adults to receive coverage.

Hatch promised to fight to overturn a veto, though he still hopes the president will change his mind.

"This president has a heart and he is compassionate and I am hopeful that he will recognize how hard we fought to keep this within reason," he said.

Salt Lake City resident Kim Dickerson is among those who might benefit from an expansion.

Her employer pays a portion of her health premium. But adding her 8-year-old daughter to the plan would cost Dickerson $352 a month.

"I simply can't afford it," said the mortgage company employee who earns just $200 above the cut-off for a family of two, an annual income of $27,380. "I get no child support from her father."

Knowing you have coverage and your daughter doesn't "tends to make you feel guilty," said Dickerson. "And it's scary. I pay for immunizations, but you worry when your kid starts climbing trees.

"They always go on about how CHIP is there for people who really need it. Well, I find that hard to believe," said Dickerson.

"How can they have so many slots while denying people who need it?"

The Bush administration wants to keep the program tailored to those making less than 200 percent of the poverty level, revoking waivers some states like New Jersey have already received to allow more than that.

The congressional plan, led primarily by Democrats, would allow some states to provide coverage for children in families that earn three times the poverty level.

There are no plans to make Utah's child health insurance program available to middle-income families. But it could come up as lawmakers debate Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s still-simmering health reform plan.

Details have yet to emerge, but a blueprint backed by business leaders flirts with the possibility of subsidizing insurance premiums for low-to-middle-income families.

The Bush administration recently made it more difficult for states to cover children from families with annual incomes exceeding two and a half times the poverty level, or $51,625 for a family of four. To do that, states must already have enrolled 95 percent of all children below 200 percent of poverty.

Utah falls short of that goal, as does every other state. Currently, 27,254 Utah kids are on CHIP, leaving vacant 17,746 slots - roughly the same number of children estimated to be eligible.

Health officials are touring the state in a van, canvassing schools and visiting libraries in an effort to encourage more parents to apply.