Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=11-3-03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=CONGRESS/IRAQ (L)

NUMBER=2-309378

BYLINE=DEBORAH TATE

DATELINE=CAPITOL HILL

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

/// EDS: VOTE EXPECTED BY 6:00 PM ///

INTRO: The Senate is expected to follow the lead of the House of Representatives and give final approval to President Bush's 87-billion dollar spending request for Iraq and Afghanistan. Correspondent Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

TEXT: Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, urged his Senate colleagues to support the spending package and send it to President Bush for his signature.

/// STEVENS ACT ///

We finish what we start, and we will not fail to do so now. This appropriations bill will enable us to fulfill our responsibilities to our men and women in uniform, and to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.

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The bill is a compromise between House and Senate-passed versions of the legislation. It drops a Senate-backed provision that would have made 10-billion dollars in Iraq reconstruction money a loan, not a grant.

The Bush administration had argued that the United States should not contribute to Iraq's debt burden.

But Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, sees it differently. Concerned that the cost of rebuilding Iraq will contribute significantly to the U-S deficit, Senator Durbin argues that Iraq should share in the cost of its reconstruction.

/// DURBIN ACT ///

Instead of asking Iraq to borrow against its bountiful oil reserves, we are asking our children and grandchildren to continue to borrow to build Iraq.

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The compromise bill also sets stricter demands for the administration to account for how the money is used, and tightens requirements for competitive bidding on contracts.

The House gave its final approval to the legislation last week. (SIGNED)

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