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Washington » The Senate approved a broad expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program on Thursday, over the objections of Republicans who criticize the $31 billion bill for offering health coverage to middle-class families and noncitizens.

But Democrats say reauthorizing CHIP is critical to helping struggling Americans during an economic recession.

"For the past year and a half, millions of families continued to lack the health care their children needed," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after the bill passed, 66-32. "Today, the United States Senate will do its part to redeem one of many mistakes of the Bush Administration by passing the Children's Health Insurance bill, moving us closer to the promise that every American child has the right to grow up strong and healthy."

GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch was for a long time a proponent of CHIP; he was having one of the original 1997 sponsors, and Reid thanked him for his work. But Hatch voted against the 4½-year reauthorization on Thursday, upset about being left out of negotiations.

"It isn't going to be long until this just becomes a federal government boondoggle," he said, "where everybody is going to expect money from the federal government to take care of things that they can take care of themselves."

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, also voted against the bill, which is similar to one already approved by the House.

The reauthorization seeks to cover 4 million more children with money from a 61-cent increase in the cigarette tax.

States would use the money to help track down and enroll thousands of low-income children who are already eligible, but the bill also gives states more flexibility to tailor their programs. Under this legislation, they could cover children in a family of four making about $60,000, pregnant women and the children of legal immigrants.

"But those are all options -- none of them are required," said Nate Checketts, director of Utah's CHIP program.

If Utah decided to extend eligibility to the children of legal immigrants who have lived in the country for fewer than five years -- or raise the income cap to 300 percent of the poverty level -- it would still have to come up with its share of the cost.

That would take an act of the Legislature, and Checketts said: "I don't know if there is anyone interested in expanding programs to try to cover more people and spend more money."

On Thursday, Hatch also tried amending the bill to protect states that use CHIP to cover unborn children. Currently, 14 states provide care for fetuses. Utah is not one of them.

"The child in the womb is just as alive, just as human, as that very same child will be after he or she is born," he said.

That amendment was rejected, though the bill the Senate passed does allow states to cover pregnant women.

mcanham@sltib.com" Target="_BLANK">mcanham@sltib.com

Tribune reporters Lisa Rosetta and Jennifer Bischoff contributed to this article.