Budget to Assist North Dakota's Turtle Mountain Indian reservation whose homes are infested with mold

[Guest guest]

Reuters | AP | ABCNEWS.com | Videos

Wednesday July 11 2:00 AM ET

Senate Passes 2001 Spending Bill

By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress may ship President Bush (news - web sites) a

compromise bill next week beefing up this year's defense budget now that the

Senate has finished its version of the measure after a battle over the

surplus and the recent tax cut.

Senators voted 98-1 Tuesday for the $6.5 billion legislation, which is

dominated by $5.9 billion for the Pentagon (news - web sites) and Energy

Department nuclear weapons activities.

The measure also has $600 million for domestic programs, ranging from

helping the poor pay heating and cooling bills to aiding residents of North

Dakota's Turtle Mountain Indian reservation whose homes are infested with a

sickening black mold.

The House passed its own $6.5 billion measure last month. Bush, who supports

most elements of both bills, requested the money in early June. The money is

for the rest of fiscal 2001, which runs through Sept. 30.

Sen. Feingold, D-Wis., cast the only vote against the bill Tuesday.

Sen. Craig (news - bio - voting record), R-Wyo., was absent.

The Senate bill contains $84 million for miners and civilians sickened by

nuclear weapons testing in the Southwest in the early days of the Cold War;

$100 million to help the United Nations (news - web sites) fight AIDS

(news - web sites) in Africa; and $116 million to process and mail rebates

to taxpayers this year mandated by the $1.35 trillion, 10-year tax cut Bush

signed into law last month.

With the slower economy and the recently enacted $1.35 trillion, 10-year tax

cut diminishing near-term budget surplus projections, both parties used the

spending measure to position themselves as earnest protectors of programs

for the elderly.

By 54-43, the Senate rejected a Republican proposal that would have

automatically triggered across-the-board spending cuts if the Social

Security (news - web sites) trust fund were to be eroded. Sen.

Voinovich (news - bio - voting record), R-Ohio, the sponsor, called his plan

``a firewall against irresponsible spending.''

Most Democrats opposed the measure because, they argued, it would be unfair

to cut spending if tax cuts or a weakening economy were the reasons the

Social Security funds were being drained.

Minutes earlier, senators voted 54-42 to block a Democratic alternative

requiring the approval of 60 of the 100 senators to approve tax cuts or new

spending that would eat into the projected surpluses of Social Security and

Medicare.

Many Republicans believe that Medicare's surpluses should be used to finance

new prescription drug benefits or an overall revamping of the

health-insurance program for the elderly.

In the year's first assault on the tax reduction, senators voted 94-3

against a proposal by Sen. Ernest Hollings (news - bio - voting record),

D-S.C., to eliminate the refund checks that the Treasury expects to begin

mailing to taxpayers later this month.

By 50-49, senators also rejected an attempt by Sen. Schumer (news -

bio - voting record), D-N.Y., to strip $33 million from the measure for the

costs of an upcoming mailing telling taxpayers they will soon get rebate

checks. Republicans said the letter would be informative, while Democrats

called it a costly effort to claim credit for Bush and Congress.

Senators also voted 83-16 to kill an effort by Sen. McCain (news -

bio - voting record), R-Ariz., to add $848 million more to this year's

defense budget for equipment, training and other costs. The money would have

come from cutting NASA (news - web sites), job training and other programs.

McCain said his amendment would have supplied ``the bare minimum'' military

leaders say they need this year. But he ran into opposition from senators

reluctant to give Bush more defense spending than he has requested and

unwilling to trim domestic activities.

Feingold found a similar reluctance to alter budget priorities when the

Senate voted 79-20 to kill his drive to shift $593 million from the troubled

Osprey (news - web sites) V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft to efforts to control

AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria overseas.

Meanwhile, a subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee approved a

measure providing $111.3 billion for housing, veterans, the environment and

other programs in 2002.

The GOP-written bill would eliminate the Americorps national service

program, a favorite of former President Clinton (news - web sites) that Bush

proposed continuing. A Democratic effort to revive the program is expected

in coming weeks.

The full Appropriations Committee later approved a $15.2 billion foreign aid

bill after blocking a Democratic effort to shift money from drug-fighting

efforts in Colombia to international children's health programs. It also

approved a $38.5 billion measure financing the Commerce, Justice and State

departments.