Copyright 2002 Star Tribune
Star Tribune
(Minneapolis, MN)
May 10, 2002, Friday, Metro Edition
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 6A
LENGTH: 574 words
HEADLINE:
Congressional roundup;
House panel backs extra Israel aid despite
administration objections
SOURCE: News Services
DATELINE: Washington, D.C.
BODY:
A House committee approved
$200 million in aid for Israel on Thursday despite objections
by the Bush administration.
Unable to block the
action, Secretary of State Colin Powell persuaded Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz.,
chairman of the Appropriations panel's foreign operations subcommittee, to add
$50 million in humanitarian help for Palestinians. Both
provisions were approved by voice vote. Administration
officials had urged Congress to delay any effort to provide additional aid to
Israel, which is the biggest recipient of U.S. foreign assistance at
$2.8 billion annually.
The
language providing the money was sponsored by Kolbe and Rep. Jack Kingston,
R-Ga., and strongly backed by Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas. It underlined the
ideological support Israel has among conservative Republicans and a reluctance
by the GOP to let Democrats alone lead an election-year effort that is likely to
please many Jewish voters.
Even so, Rep. Sonny
Callahan, R-Ala., said the money was being provided only because of "political
ramifications."
He said "the Israel lobby . . .
comes to Washington and says we need to take advantage of this and we need to
raise $200 million for Israel. . . . Vote your convictions."
The money was added to a package of defense and
counterterrorism spending for the remaining five months of the federal fiscal
year, bringing its price to $29.4 billion.
An effort to add funds for Israel also is likely
in the Senate, which is expected to write its own anti-terrorism legislation
after the House approves its version, perhaps next week.
Kolbe said the aid to Israel was for the
military, although aides later said it was economic assistance that can be used
for security items such as police.
He said the
money for the Palestinians would be funneled through the U.S. Agency for
International Development, a federal agency, not through the Palestinian
Authority headed by Yasser Arafat. Kolbe said the money would go to humanitarian
purposes such as providing food, health care and housing in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip.
Abortion issue blocks
bankruptcy bill talks
Negotiators said that negotiations on a bill to
overhaul the bankruptcy system had broken down in an angry dispute over a
provision on abortion rights.
Sen. Charles
Schumer, D-N.Y., a supporter of abortion rights, and Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., an
opponent of abortion, held out little hope that they could overcome their
differences, even though that could mean the death of the bill that would
restrict a person's ability to escape his or her debts and probably would be
passed by overwhelming margins.
Abortion
opponents refuse to accept a provision written by Schumer that was included in
the Senate bill. It would prohibit abortion protesters from
using the bankruptcy laws to escape debts incurred as a result
of court fines or judgments stemming from violent protests at abortion clinics.
Hyde has said the language is too broad and
could unfairly punish peaceful demonstrators who become caught up in court
action and faced bankruptcies.
Schumer said he
was willing to make some adjustments in the wording of his provision. "But the
House leadership should know that it will not get a bankruptcy bill unless
there's genuine compromise on this provision," he said. "Every time we take a
step towards them, they take a step back."
LOAD-DATE: May 10, 2002
