HOUSE VOTES AGAINST DIVERTING ANTI-DRUG FUNDS

WASHINGTON -- The House voted Tuesday to protect money for fighting drugs
in South America from lawmakers who argued that foreign aid dollars would
be better spent against AIDS and other world health problems.

The defeat of amendments to shift money from the Andean anti-drug
initiative to health programs was a victory for the Bush administration,
which said that any reductions below what the president wanted "would
undermine the effort to develop healthy, licit economies and strong
democratic governments in the Andes."

The $15.2-billion foreign aid spending bill for the fiscal year beginning
Oct. 1 passed, 381 to 46. It contains $676 million to fight drugs and
advance stability in Colombia and its neighbors. But some lawmakers, led by
Democrats, questioned the wisdom of military aid to Colombia and said
combating AIDS and other diseases should be a higher priority.

The bill, which has not been to the Senate, provides $474 million for
international AIDS programs. Included is the $100 million the president
requested for an international HIV-AIDS trust fund.