With House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) proclaiming that “40 days in Iraq equals one year of insurance for 10 million children,” the House overwhelmingly passed a bill that expands health care coverage to 4 million more low-income children and maintains coverage for 7 million now enrolled. If approved in the Senate today, the plan will cost $32 billion over 4 ½ years, paid for in part by raising taxes by 61 cents on a pack of cigarettes to $1. President-elect Barack Obama, who made health care a priority during his run for the White House, said it will be among the first bills he signs. The plan is “not just good economic policy, but a moral obligation we hold as parents and citizens,” he said. The bill passed 289 to 139, with 40 Republicans in support. Democrats say that the bill is just a small part of the more comprehensive health care plan.