Bush Signs Spending Bill for Capital
President Bush on Monday signed a $630-million spending bill for the District of Columbia stripped of an abortion provision that had prompted him to veto an earlier version.
Among its provisions, the bill requires the district within the next 90 days to hold a referendum in which residents of the capital would vote on whether to restore the death penalty.
The capital punishment provision was prompted by congressional concern over a wave of homicides and other crimes engulfing the city.
Bush vetoed the appropriations bill last Wednesday because it contained a provision allowing the district to use locally generated tax dollars to pay for abortions for poor women. Within hours, the House and Senate passed another version with that provision removed.
The money in the bill is intended to compensate the district for providing services to the federal government and for loss of taxes because of tax-exempt government property.
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