2 Controversial Portions of Aid Bill Dropped
House-Senate negotiators smoothed the way for passage of a $720-million Central American aid bill Thursday by dropping controversial measures on abortions and the death penalty in the District of Columbia.
President Bush threatened to veto the supplemental appropriations bill if it included the Democratic proposal to allow the District of Columbia to use locally raised tax money for abortions for impoverished women.
Negotiators also jettisoned a companion measure, pushed by Republicans, that would have permitted the death penalty in the nation’s capital.
Still to be worked out are differences on defense spending.
Key provisions are the $300 million in aid for Nicaragua and $420 million for Panama. Bush has chided Congress for dallying on the Central American aid measure.
The 1990 bill contains a host of other big-ticket items, including $110 million for the census; about $162 million for the Head Start program for poor children and $400 million in housing loans for Israel to build houses for Soviet emigres.
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