SENATE PANEL OKS EMERGENCY FUNDS TO FIGHT DRUG WAR

The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday approved emergency aid to
fight the drug war in Colombia, peacekeeping in Kosovo and for victims of
natural disasters.

Gen. Barry McCaffrey, director of the White House Office of Drug Control
Policy, praised the committee vote, saying the proposed $934 million
appropriation would give the United States and Colombia "a fair opportunity
to stop drugs from coming into" this country.

The aid money to Kosovo came after a provision that restricts future U.S.
action in the Yugoslav province was approved.

A proposal by committee Chairman Ted Stevens, Alaska Republican, for $7.2
billion in assistance grew to roughly $8 billion after the committee
debated the plan for nearly four hours and approved several additions.

By a 23-3 vote, the committee also adopted a provision by Sen. Robert C.
Byrd, West Virginia Democrat, that would require the next president to
withdraw U.S. peacekeeping troops from Kosovo by July 2001 unless Congress
extends their stay.

The House narrowly rejected a similar amendment in March.

The Senate panel's action came more than a month after Senate Majority
Leader Trent Lott, Mississippi Republican, blocked work on a larger version
of the emergency aid package. Mr. Lott supports the smaller proposal.

The funds the committee approved are less than the $13 billion bill the
House approved March 30 but more than the $5.2 billion President Clinton
has requested.

Rather than a free-standing bill, the money was divided among three routine
spending bills for military construction, foreign aid and agriculture for
the coming fiscal year.

The full Senate will consider the first of the bills later this week, and
differences with the House versions will be settled in a joint House-Senate
conference committee.

By trimming the emergency funds and attaching them to must-pass spending
bills, Mr. Stevens was addressing Mr. Lott's objections that a separate
package would have been too expensive and time-consuming. Mr. Lott and
other Republican leaders want Congress to adjourn as early as possible so
lawmakers can return home and campaign for re-election.

Since stalling the earlier measure, Mr. Lott has come under pressure from
administration officials and others who argue the money is needed urgently,
especially aid to Colombia's embattled government for fighting drug
traffickers who control large swaths of the country.

The new package contains $5.7 billion for U.S. peacekeeping in Kosovo,
anti-drug efforts in Colombia and other Defense Department programs.
Included is money for Pentagon fuel purchases and the military's
financially ailing health-insurance plan.

Another $1.5 billion was for the aftermath of last fall's Hurricane Floyd,
which battered parts of the East Coast, and other natural disasters.

Mr. Clinton requested $1.3 billion for Colombia, on top of $300 million
already provided, while the House approved $1.7 billion. Mr. Clinton
requested about $2.8 billion for Kosovo and other Pentagon needs, while the
House approved $9 billion.