WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday she is `` praying '' that President Bush has a change of heart and does not veto a bipartisan children 's health insurance bill that he has labeled an unwarranted expansion of government-run health insurance . House Speaker Nancy Pelosi applauds after signing the State Children 's Health Insurance legislation Friday . `` The tide is going a different way than a presidential veto would reflect , '' Pelosi , a California Democrat , said . `` It was with great friendship that I reached out to the president this morning to say that I was still praying that he would have a change of heart and sign this legislation . '' `` I think I have to pray a little harder , but I will not give up , '' Pelosi said . Pelosi 's comments came a day after the Senate voted 67-29 for the measure , which would expand the State Children 's Health Insurance program by up to 4 million children . White House spokeswoman Dana Perino on Friday said Bush still intends to veto the bill when it arrives at his desk . Perino also said the disagreement between Congress and the White House was a simple policy difference , not `` about who cares about children more than the other . '' `` The president is saying , 'Let 's take care of the neediest children first , let 's not put scarce federal dollars toward a program that was meant for the poorest children and let it creep up to middle-income families with incomes up to $ 83,000 a year , ' `` Perino said . Bush and many Republicans contend that the program 's original intent -- to give parents who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to buy private insurance coverage for their children -- would be changed under the current bill , prompting parents to wind up dropping private coverage their children already have to get cheaper coverage under the bill . Perino also objected that the rhetoric surrounding the SCHIP bill has become too heated . `` I think it is preposterous for people to suggest the president of the United States does n't care about children , that he wants children to suffer , '' Perino said . The bill enjoys bipartisan support . Eighteen Republican senators Thursday night joined all the Democrats in voting for expanding the popular program from its current annual budget of $ 5 billion to $ 12 billion for the next five years . Four senators -- Republicans John McCain of Arizona and Sam Brownback of Kansas and Democrats Joseph Biden of Delaware and Barack Obama of Illinois -- did not vote . With the current program scheduled to expire Saturday , the White House encouraged Congress to send the president a continuing resolution extending the program . `` We should take this time to arrive at a more rational , bipartisan SCHIP reauthorization bill that focuses on children in poor families who do n't currently have insurance , rather than raising taxes to cover people who already have private insurance , '' Perino added . Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah was among those Republicans who split from the president . `` It 's very difficult for me to be against a man I care so much for , '' he told his colleagues on the Senate floor prior to the vote . `` It 's unfortunate that the president has chosen to be on what , to me , is clearly the wrong side of this issue . '' Though 67 votes in the 100-person chamber would suffice to overturn a veto , the House version , which was approved Tuesday , fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto . E-mail to a friend .
House Speaker Pelosi ` ` praying '' that president has change of heart on bill . Measure expanding kids ' health insurance program passed House . President objects to measure expanding coverage beyond just poor children . White House says it would benefit children from middle - class families .