Freshman Sen. Kay Hagan voted for a bill to expand the health insurance program for children, but not before making a symbolic effort to reduce the size of the cigarette tax hike that pays for it.

The Senate vote Thursday night to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program to 11 million low-income children. The $32.8 billion expansion will be paid for by raising the federal cigarette tax from 39 cents per pack to $1 per pack.

Hagan, along with fellow tobacco-state Democrat Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, offered an amendment to raise the cigarette tax instead to just 76 cents per pack. But after offering the amendment, they withdrew it because it was clear that Senate Democratic leadership wanted the bill.

The measure passed by a 66-32 vote in the Senate in a largely party-line vote. North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr voted against it.

Hagan expressed dismay that the health insurance program was funded entirely with tobacco taxes, but ultimately voted for the measure.

"Less than a month into my service here in the U.S. Senate," Hagan told the Senate, "I'm faced with a situation in which the health of thousands of my state’s children are at odds with a key industry in North Carolina."

"But ultimately," Hagan said, "I had to vote on behalf of the 10 million low-income and disadvantaged children this bill helps."

The measure, which had earlier passed the House, now goes to the White House where President Obama is expected to sign it next week. President Bush had previously vetoed the bill.

* Rep. Bruce Goforth writes a bill that would extend legislators' terms from two years to four, says it would cut PAC influence, fundraising.

* U.S. Sen. Richard Burr makes the rounds, appearing on Fox News and WPTF, at press conference and on Senate floor to speak against SCHIP, stimulus package.

* Greensboro News-Record columnist Doug Clark says Senate Republican leader Phil Berger should go over legislators' heads and talk straight to the governor.

* Conservative, gun-owning NRA member Katy Benningfield speaks out against bill allowing hunting on Sundays, cites personal safety while mountain biking.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr is gaining some prime face time today on C-SPAN2, spending some 20 minutes offering reasons why the Democrats' bill to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program is a bad idea.

Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, waxed poetic about his days in the House helping write the bill, and he said today it's gone too far, Barb Barrett reports.

Among his points:

* The Democrats' bill would cover 5.4 million new children, including more than 2 million already covered by their parents.

* The Republicans have an amendment that would cover more than 3 million children, but would cost less.

Mostly, Burr said, today’s debate ought to be about health care coverage in general — not just SCHIP.

"This is another attempt to grow the size of the government program to include more Americans into it without taking on the tough task of debating how in the hell do we fix health care in this country?" Burr said on the Senate floor. "What are the reforms that must take place so that every American has the opportunity to be insured?"

National Democrats think North Carolina's Senate seat could be in play.

According to a piece in the online political journal Politico today, Democratic strategists "are now taking a serious look at pouring resources" into state Sen. Kay Hagan's bid to unseat Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Excited by three recent polls showing Dole less popular than expected, strategists have put the race in the "second tier of potential pickups" including Minnesota, Oregon and Maine. It's an unusual turn of events, the piece notes, since Gov. Mike Easley and U.S. Rep. Brad Miller both passed, as did Hagan initially.

But a list of heavyweight recruiters weighed in, including Democratic former Gov. Jim Hunt, topped by a full-court press from DSCC Chairman Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

"We've worked hard to get Hagan; we really thought Dole was vulnerable," said DSCC spokesman Matt Miller. "Hagan has turned out to be a great candidate, all under the D.C. radar."

Still, Hagan has a steep financial challenge, having spent most of the $1.5 million she raised in the primary, while Dole has $3.2 million in her account.

The piece notes that Hagan will try to tar Dole as a D.C. insider who votes with President Bush 92 percent of the time. At the same time, Hagan has critiqued free-trade agreements, favors an end to the Iraq war, and supports expanding federally funded health care for children.

Hat Tip: Mark Binker 

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole says a proposed expansion of a popular health care program hurts tobacco farmers unnecessarily.

At a meeting of the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina today at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, Dole said Congress doesn't understand the importance of tobacco to North Carolina.

She argued that the proposed $35 billion expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program should not be paid for with an increase on the tobacco tax.

"It's all being done on the backs of one state's economy," Dole said. "A 156 percent increase in tax on tobacco and all related aspects affects 255,000 people. Why should one state be paying for something that affects 50 states?"

She said she supports better health care for children, but not the recent bill.

"I think any elected official saying they were for that provision ... they just really don't get it in terms of how much it would hurt the economy," she said.

North Carolina House Speaker Joe Hackney will be on Capitol Hill Wednesday lobbying Congress.

Hackney, an Orange County Democrat, is scheduled to lead a delegation of state lawmakers from around the country to meet with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, reports Rob Christensen.

Hackney said he wants to discuss the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, the impact of the drought and other issues.

Hackney is president-elect of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Members of Congress have their own health care plan.

In a guest column in the N&O, health care advocate Adam Searing notes that the Federal Employees Health Benefits program is one of the best in the nation.

With the federal government subsidizing 72 to 75 percent of the plan, an older senator and spouse pay as little as $290 a month in premiums. 

In addition, senators and representatives also have access to a physician's office with 13 top doctors and the top-notch National Naval Medical Center. 

Searing says eliminating the benefits would "inject a little reality" into the debate over the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

"Members would still be able to purchase health coverage, but paying full freight might bring home for some the frighteningly high costs many North Carolina families face," he writes. 

Two-thirds of North Carolina's uninsured children already qualify for state health plans.

According to figures compiled by Action for Children N.C., a child health advocacy group, 177,000 uninsured children in the state come from families earning below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or less than $41,300 for a family of four.

That means they already should be covered by either Medicaid or Health Choice, two health care plans for low-income children paid for with state and federal dollars.

The state already promotes both programs at hospitals, schools and state agencies, but many parents fail to sign up. Others don't qualify. Children who immigrated illegally cannot receive benefits, while those who immigrated legally still must wait five years to sign up.

Adam Searing, project director for the N.C. Justice Center's Health Access Coalition, said the state can't afford to cover all those children anyway, unless Congress provides more money for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which funds Health Choice.

"All those kids could sign up, but we don't have the money available," he said.

* On his fourth trip to Robeson County since last spring, state Treasurer Richard Moore says he never heard of bagels or egg rolls growing up. (Robesonian/AP)

* In unusual move, State Rep. Rick Glazier, a Democrat, backs Fayetteville City Council candidate Larry Clubine, also a Dem; his aide is Clubine's wife. (Fay-O)

* Jim Neal says in Senate he would set benchmarks on Iraq, oppose Outlying Landing Field, back SCHIP expansion and be more fiscally responsible. (GN-R)

* Former U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor hasn't told the National Republican Congressional Committee whether he'll run against Rep. Heath Shuler in 2008. (Char-O)

Correction: An earlier version misstated Clubine's affiliation.