politics

WASHINGTON - The House voted Tuesday to expand health insurance for children, but the Democratic-led victory may prove short-lived because the margin was too small to override President Bush's promised veto.

The House voted 265-159 to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, by $35 billion over five years. Bush says he will veto the bill because of its cost, its reliance on a tobacco tax increase and its potential for replacing private insurance with government grants.

SCHIP is a state-federal program that provides coverage for 6.6 million children from families that live above the poverty level but have trouble affording private health insurance. The proposed expansion, backed by most governors, would add 4 million children to the rolls.

The bill drew support from 45 House Republicans, many of them moderates who do not want to be depicted as indifferent to low-income children's health needs when they seek reelection next year. But most Republicans, under pressure from the White House, sided with Bush.

To overturn a veto, both chambers of Congress must produce two-thirds majorities. The 159 votes opposing the bill should give Bush enough cushion to sustain his veto, as House leaders expect few members to switch positions.

The Senate appears poised to pass the SCHIP expansion by a large margin later this week, but a Senate bid to override a veto would be pointless if the House override effort falls short.

Despite the expected veto, many Democrats welcomed the SCHIP debate as a way to open a second political front -- in addition to Iraq -- on which they feel Bush and his allies are out of step with voters.

Bush proposes a smaller increase in SCHIP -- $5 billion over five years -- although some Republican lawmakers say he might agree to a larger increase later.

CIA nominee dropped: The White House withdrew its nominee to become the CIA's top lawyer after Democrats raised concerns that the agency's interrogation techniques may be illegal.

John Rizzo asked President Bush to withdraw his name, saying that it would be in his best interest and that of the agency, where he has worked for 32 years.

The Senate intelligence committee had been expected to consider Rizzo's nomination at a hearing Tuesday afternoon.

Rizzo told a Senate panel in June that he did not object to a 2002 memo authorizing interrogation techniques that stop just short of inflicting pain equal to that accompanying organ failure or even death.

More authority sought: The nation's spy chief urged Congress to make permanent a law that gives intelligence agencies broad authority to eavesdrop without warrants on people in the United States and suspected foreign terrorists. National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell told the Senate Judiciary Committee that surveillance powers contained in temporary legislation passed last month are vital to derailing terrorist attacks.

NEWS SERVICES