Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush would veto a revised version of legislation to expand a U.S. children's health program, aides said today.

The Democratic-backed measure that is being debated in the House today would ``move children from private health insurance to government programs'' and raise tobacco taxes unnecessarily, the administration said in a statement. Bush vetoed the original version of the measure on Oct. 3.

Democrats said they hoped changes in the legislation would attract enough Republican support to override a veto, after falling about 13 votes short last week. The revisions don't reduce the legislation's $35 billion in funds over five years and would still cover 10 million children, up from 6 million currently enrolled.

``The bill's drafters did not come up with a policy and then figure out how much it would cost,'' the administration said in the statement. ``Rather, they came up with a revenue number, figured out how much money that raised, and then designed a policy to spend that much.''

House Democrats called on their Republican colleagues to support the measure, saying the changes responded to concern that the money would be spent on higher-income kids and that illegal immigrants could qualify for benefits.

``The bill before us today answers their criticisms,'' Representative Pete Stark, a California Democrat, said during the floor debate. ``Those who vote against today's legislation can only be voting against the government providing health care to poor children who have no other way to get it.''

No Bush `Overtures'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said Bush didn't try to work with Democrats on the issue.

``He has not been receptive to that, nor has he made any overtures to us,'' Pelosi said.

The House vote will go ahead as planned, she said. Some House Republicans asked for a delay because nine of their members are in California viewing damage from wildfires.

The 10-year-old State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as Schip, is aimed at low-income kids whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor, and too little to afford private insurance.

Bush has said that Democrats are trying to expand the program as a step toward government-run health care for everyone. Democrats say Schip needs the extra funding to help more uninsured children.

Income Limit

Under the revised measure, enrollment would be limited to children from households earning as much as $62,000 a year for families of four. New Jersey, the only state with permission to cover higher-income families, could continue to do so.

Bush has said the original legislation would have let families earning as much as $83,000 a year enroll their children, an assertion Democrats denied. House Democrats said they set a cap on eligibility to allay those concerns.

The new measure doesn't do enough to prevent middle-income families from dropping private insurance for cheaper, government-subsidized coverage, the administration said in the statement. It also doesn't set requirements to ensure that low- income children, those in families earning less than $41,300, are covered first.

``The real fact is that the compromise bill is nothing less than a bunch of baloney,'' said Representative Sam Johnson, a Texas Republican.

Illegal Immigrants

The new version offered by House Democrats tightens language barring illegal immigrants from signing up for Schip, Democrats said. It also more quickly phases out coverage for childless adults now enrolled.

Once the measure passes the House, it would have to be voted on in the Senate, where the previous version passed by a veto-proof majority. The legislation would be funded by raising the federal tax on cigarettes to $1 a pack from 39 cents.

The revised legislation was drawn up after negotiations with 38 Republicans who sent a letter to the Democratic leadership outlining their objections, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said at a press conference yesterday.

``No one said during these negotiations that we were covering too many children,'' Hoyer said. ``Instead we addressed the concerns raised by some Republicans regarding income, eligibility and coverage for adults.''

-- With reporting by Laura Litvan in Washington. Editor: Liebert (jat/rtg)

To contact the reporter on this story: Aliza Marcus in Washington at amarcus8@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 25, 2007 15:51 EDT