SATURDAY DEC 29, 2007 (Foodconsumer.org) -- President George W. Bush signed into law on Saturday a temporary extension of a popular health insurance program for poor children after months of battling with the Democratic-led Congress, Reuters reported today.

At issue is the State Children's Health Insurance Program known as SCHIP.   Early Congress passed legislation to increase tax on tobacco to increase funding of the program and Bush had vetoed it twice arguing that the funding is too costly.

The new legislation extends through March 31, 2009 the program that covers an estimated 6.6 million children from families whose income is too high for them to be eligible for other government insurance programs, but too low for them to afford to purchase private health insurance plans.

The bills early vetoed by the president would have expanded the program to cover an estimate 10 million children in low and moderate income families. An overwhelming majority of both republican and democratic congressmen voted for the bills.

The new law also provides a 0.5 percent raise for Medicare doctors for six months, delaying a planned 10 percent pay cut.

Bush said the previous bills would push more children into government-run health care instead of private programs, according to Reuters.   Bush also opposed an increase in tax on tobacco.