But Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), a leading Democrat in the House, said he wanted a bill that can pass Congress, not merely make a statement.
"We want to actually get something done," said Pallone, chairman of a subcommittee that will be writing the legislation.
Back in Texas, where Bush was governor in the early days of the program, former state Rep. Glen Maxey, a Democrat, said the president was "no friend of this program."
The initial allocation of federal funds for Texas would have supported coverage for 500,000 children, Maxey said. But Gov. Bush's first proposal called for covering only about 150,000, according to Maxey, who formed a legislative caucus to build support for covering the larger number.
The turning point was a 1999 committee vote in the Texas House, which signaled broad support for the more generous plan. Maxey said Bush later came up to him on the House floor, put his hands on his shoulders and conceded he had been outflanked.
Bush signed the bill and when he ran for president in 2000, cited it as an example of "compassionate conservatism."
"His example over and over again was that we covered every kid we possibly could in Texas," Maxey said.
ricardo.alonso-zaldivar@latimes.com
