The bill passed - handily - but not by enough votes to override a presidential veto. And despite making a series of tweaks to satisfy Republican concerns, it appears that Democrats picked up no more support than they had a week ago.

They still plan to press forward and the bill could come up in the Senate as quickly as next week.

For Utah's delegation, Thursday's vote on CHIP mirrored previous efforts to expand the popular program. Democrat Jim Matheson voted for the bill, while Republicans Rob Bishop and Chris Cannon opposed it.

Cannon complained the legislation is a "stealth" attempt at pushing more government health care, while Matheson called the bill the "morally right thing to do."

Congress has until mid-November to either temporarily extend CHIP or reach a lasting compromise. CHIP provides health coverage for children who are not eligible for Medicaid, but live in families that can't afford private coverage.

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch along with Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, are the leading Republican backers of CHIP. Hatch said the tweaks improved the bill, though he wished Democrats postponed the vote to give him more time to try to convince other Republicans.

Though Hatch also said he understood the reason Democrats forced a quick vote.

"I don't believe the administration has dealt totally fairly on this issue," he said. "I just think the House leadership took the position 'Hey, we don't want to give them more time to obfuscate the bill.' "

Hatch said the president and his advisers have leveled unfair attacks against the bill about who it covers and who it doesn't.

Democrats have refused to negotiate on the scope of the program. The revised bill would still cover 10 million children at a cost of $35 billion over five years. But they did bend on four other issues that House Republicans raised.

The latest bill would:

* Cap income eligibility at three times the poverty level or about $60,000 a year for a family of four. The old bill would allow the president to agree to waivers to cover those making more than that.

* Phase out the adults covered by CHIP in one year instead of two.

* Require the Social Security Administration to verify that all participants are citizens, bolstering provisions baring undocumented immigrants.

* Require the Government Accountability Office to create a report detailing the best ways to avoid "crowd out," where those with private insurance drop it in favor of this government program.

The White House and House Republicans were not impressed by the concessions, calling them "cosmetic."

A series of procedural moves meant to block a vote failed, despite the objections of Republicans from California, who complained that seven of their colleagues were not available to vote because of the massive wildfires in their districts.

Still, the biggest issue behind the Bush administration's opposition is there belief that the program should be restrained to cover only those making twice the poverty level, leaving the private insurance market to handle everyone else.

They want to see the price tag drop. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt has said the administration may be willing to go up to $20 billion.

Hatch said he would budge on the program's funding - grudgingly - if it would create a compromise.

"But not very much," he said. "Why would we not want to have enough money to cover the kids who deserve to be on it?"

mcanham@sltrib.com