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Obama Expected To Sign Children's Health Bill
Assuming no glitches on Capitol Hill, President Obama is set to sign legislation Wednesday to extend and expand a popular health insurance program for children known as the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP.
The House still needs to give one final, formal vote to clear the four-and-a-half year, $32 billion bill to provide health insurance to some 11 million children in families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private insurance.
But that's not expected to be a problem, and President Obama has scheduled an East Room ceremony to sign a measure that differs only slightly from bills vetoed twice by his predecessor.
It will be the first good news on health care this week for the new administration, which considers the issue a priority. On Tuesday, the president's nominee to head up his health overhaul efforts, former Sen. Tom Daschle, withdrew under a cloud of controversy over late tax payments and alleged conflicts of interest.
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