DATE=6/29/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CONGRESS/COLOMBIA-KOSOVO (S/L)
NUMBER=2-263916
BYLINE=PAULA WOLFSON
DATELINE=CAPITOL HILL
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: After months of political wrangling, the U-S
House of Representatives has approved legislation that
provides billions of dollars to fight drugs in
Colombia and support peacekeeping in Kosovo. V-O-A's
Paula Wolfson reports the Senate is expected to follow
suit later today (by close of business Friday) and
send the bill to the President, who has pushed hard
for the funds.
TEXT: The money is part of an eleven-point-two
billion-dollar emergency spending bill that began its
path through Congress early in the year.
The House approved its initial version in March, but
the legislation bogged down in the Senate. It took
steady pressure from Colombian leaders and the
Pentagon to get Senators to move on the measure. Even
then, there were differences in language between the
House and Senate that took weeks to resolve.
The compromise bill includes one-point-three billion
dollars to help Colombia battle drug producers. It
also allocates two billion dollars to pay for
peacekeeping operations in Kosovo.
/// REST OPT FOR USE IN LONG CR ///
The Colombia aid has been a priority for House Speaker
Dennis Hastert and the White House. But there has
been substantial opposition from lawmakers who fear
the United States could get dragged into another
country's civil war. Much of the money will be used
to purchase military equipment and train special anti-
drug troops that will operate in the guerilla
controlled regions of the country.
By putting the money for Colombia into a bill that
also provides emergency funds for many congressional
districts, House Republican leaders assured its
passage. The vote in support of the compromise
legislation was substantial. Three-hundred-six
members voted for the bill, 110 voted no. (Signed)
NEB/PW/KBK
29-Jun-2000 22:06 PM EDT (30-Jun-2000 0206 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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