Thursday March 30, 2:33 pm Eastern Time
U.S. House approves Colombia aid, defense boost
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives
on
Thursday approved $13 billion to help Colombia fight cocaine trafficking,
replenish military coffers tapped by Kosovo peacekeeping and offer
relief
to victims of last year's hurricanes and floods.
The House passed a bill that had ballooned from President Bill
Clinton's
original $5 billion request as lawmakers added nearly $6 billion
for the
Pentagon, more than doubled the $1 billion Clinton wanted for
weather
relief and tacked on funds for highway repairs and other uses.
The measure faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where
Republican
Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi has complained about the ``bloated''
House
bill. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, an
Alaska
Republican, has said he is preparing a $9 billion bill.
House members turned back efforts to cut the $1.7 billion Clinton
wanted to
help train and equip Colombia's military and national police to
fight the
illegal drug trade that has fueled a bloody conflict in the country
and
flooded many U.S. cities with cocaine and heroin.
Lawmakers also narrowly rejected an effort to force Clinton
to start
withdrawing U.S. forces from Kosovo unless European NATO allies
start
shouldering a larger share of the peacekeeping costs.
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