By CHRISTINA NUCKOLS, The Virginian-Pilot
© July 18, 2007
Last updated: 10:27 PM

RICHMOND

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday the United States should focus its resources on domestic programs such as health care for children in low-income families and scale back its military presence in Iraq.

The U.S. senator from New York held her first public appearance in Virginia's capital since 1992, speaking to a bipartisan audience of about 2,500 county government officials attending the National Association of Counties convention.

County leaders invited all presidential contenders to speak at the event but only Clinton agreed to attend.

In her 30-minute speech, Clinton promised to work closely with local governments on health care, homeland security and economic development. She did not mention other Democratic or Republican contenders for the White House, but repeatedly rebuked President Bush for his handling of foreign and domestic policies.

In particular, Clinton criticized Bush for threatening to veto a proposed expansion of a popular health insurance program for indigent children.

"We have a president who vetoed bringing our troops home, threatens to veto more health care for our children," she said. "How about reversing our priorities? Let's stop sending troops to Iraq and let's start insuring every single child."

A proposal now before the Senate would increase spending on the health insurance program by $35 billion over five years in an effort to cover 4.1 million of the 9 million uninsured U.S. children. The expense would be covered by a 61-cents-a-pack increase in cigarette taxes.

Bush has proposed spending an extra $4.8 billion on the program. He wants to cap eligibility at 200 percent of the poverty level, or $34,340 for a family of three, instead of the 300 percent level allowed under the Senate measure.

Clinton promised to use the children's insurance program as a step toward universal health care if elected president. The senator said she will announce details of her larger health care plan in a few weeks.

Clinton was scheduled to return to Capitol Hill after her Richmond appearance for a planned all-night debate in the Senate on the Iraq war.

Clinton said she wants to improve security at U.S. ports, increase federal funding for local police departments, strengthen regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, and end tax incentives for companies moving jobs overseas.

Clinton holds a commanding lead among Democratic presidential contenders in recent polls. Her Richmond speech drew good reviews from Republicans as well as Democrats attending the convention.

"She's done her homework and she knows what's important to us," said Teresa Altemus, a Republican supervisor from Gloucester County who is president of the Virginia Association of Counties. "These are bipartisan issues. We can't leave children out on the streets without health care."

Christina Nuckols, (804) 697-1562, christina.nuckols@pilotonline.com

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