HOUSE APPROVES $12.7 BILLION IN EMERGENCY SPENDING

The House approved a $12.7 billion emergency spending bill yesterday that
includes funds for a Clinton administration initiative to train and equip
Colombia's army in the war against Latin American drug traffickers.

The spending package includes funds to cover military involvement in
Kosovo, hurricane disaster relief, a big boost in routine military
operations and scores of other projects and programs.

Despite warnings by critics that the government is being drawn into an
open-ended commitment to the Colombian government, House Speaker J. Dennis
Hastert (R-Ill.) and other proponents said the administration's initiative
is essential to reducing the flow of illegal drugs into this country.

The final vote was 263 to 146, with 143 Republicans, 119 Democrats and one
independent supporting the measure.

The House averted a showdown with President Clinton by rejecting an
amendment that would have required him to withdraw U.S. peacekeepers from
Kosovo unless European countries deliver more of the aid they have promised
for the Yugoslav province.

By 219 to 200, lawmakers rejected a bipartisan proposal to use the threat
of withdrawal to pressure the Europeans to deliver millions of dollars more
for economic, humanitarian and policing assistance. Clinton would have had
to begin withdrawing troops in June under the proposal offered by Budget
Committee Chairman John R. Kasich (R-Ohio).

But after the vote on the full bill, Clinton said he is still concerned
about the overall size of the package and wants funding redirected to other
priorities, including embassy security.

Under the overall measure, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru will share in $1.3
billion of anti-drug funding, with Colombia getting the majority of
funds--including about $388 million to purchase 28 Blackhawk helicopters
for the Colombian Army. The assistance is aimed at helping the Colombian
government gain control of drug-producing regions in the south, increase
drug interdiction efforts and beef up the Colombian national police.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) has vowed to block the spending
bill, saying it is too big. But he is under pressure from Senate
Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to go along with a
scaled-back version of the House plan in the range of $6 billion.

The House-passed spending package is more than twice the $5.1 billion
package Clinton originally sought. Under pressure from Hastert, the
Appropriations Committee expanded aid for anti-drug efforts. The panel also
added $1.6 billion to cover the Pentagon's soaring fuel costs and $854
million for the military's financially troubled health care program.

During floor debate, the House added $4 billion more for routine military
operations and recruitment, in response to pressure from House National
Security Committee Chairman Floyd Spence (R-S.C.).

The "emergency" bill also includes a host of apparently non-emergency
items; the bill, for instance, included $100 million for local firefighting
agencies, sought by Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) and others.