The U.S. House of Representatives voted by a strong majority to reauthorize and expand SCHIP, a federal program providing medical insurance to lower income children whose families can't afford to pay for coverage themselves.

The vote of 289-139 was largely along party lines. Forty Republicans voted in favor of the measure, while the bulk opposed it.

The bill would authorize the program, expanding coverage for an additional 4 million children through fiscal year 2013 at a cost of $32.3 billion.

It would bring the total number of children covered under the program to around 11 million.

The Senate is expected to bring forward the bill possibly as soon as next week, and the legislation is likely to be among the first signed into law by President-elect Barack Obama after he is sworn into office next week.

"This coverage is critical, it is fully paid for, and I hope that the Senate acts with the same sense of urgency so that it can be one of the first measures I sign into law when I am President," said Obama, in a statement.

The bill will largely be paid for by an increase in the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents a pack bringing the levy to $1 a pack.

The House version removes a five-year waiting period for children who become legal residents to receive coverage under the federal insurance program. The Senate version does not remove that hurdle, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wednesday she expects it will be the House version Obama signs into law next week.

Analysts expect the higher taxes on tobacco to reduce volumes at the three major U.S. cigarette makers, Altria Group Inc. (MO), Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) and Lorillard Inc. (LO).

SCHIP, State Children's Health Insurance Program, is a program that aims to provide coverage for children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but still struggle to afford health insurance.

House Republicans opposed the legislation because they said it would shift children who are currently covered by private medical insurance onto the federal books. They believe the bill would stray the program from its original intent of paying for health insurance for lower income families.

SCHIP will not take the place of what is expected to be a wider attempt at health care reform the Obama administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress will embark on later this year.

Expanding the program has long been a priority of Democrats. Congress twice passed an enlargement of the children's health program in 2007. Both times it was vetoed by President George W. Bush.

-By Corey Boles, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6601; corey.boles@dowjones.com

(Patrick Yoest and Anjali Cordeiro contributed to this article.)

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