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"As I think everybody here will agree, this is only the first step," Obama said of the bill that reauthorizes the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

"Because the way I see it, providing coverage to 11 million children through CHIP is a down payment on my commitment to cover every single American," he said.

Obama held the ebullient East Room signing ceremony a day after admitting that he "screwed up" in naming former Sen. Tom Daschle to spearhead his health-care overhaul.

The president wrapped the signing event in another pitch for his separate $819 billion economic plan that now is under consideration in the Senate and faces Republican opposition.