HOUSE KEEPS COLOMBIA AID PLAN INTACT

WASHINGTON-(AP)-The House refused Wednesday to slash a planned $1.7 billion
for battling drug lords in Colombia and edged toward approving a $13-billion
bill that would also finance U.S. peacekeepers in Kosovo and aid victims of
natural disasters at home.

The House voted, 239-186, to reject an effort by Rep. David R. Obey (D-Wis.)
that would have delayed, and perhaps eventually killed, $522 million of the
Colombia aid.

The roll call came after House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who
rarely joins floor debate, took to the well of the chamber to ask colleagues
for the full amount of money.

Hastert, whose staunch support for the aid for Colombia has helped keep the
overall bill alive, said the money was crucial for controlling the drug
problem in the United States. U.S. officials say 90% of the cocaine and 65%
of the heroin used in the United States comes from Colombian-grown coca.

"We can't ignore this issue," Hastert said.

Critics, both liberal and conservative, said the proposal would risk an
intensified, lengthy and perhaps unsuccessful American involvement in the
South American country's long-running and bloody civil war.