Senate Delays $8.6-Billion Quake Aid Bill

The Senate delayed passage of the $8.6-billion California earthquake aid package Wednesday, but the massive emergency bill still appeared to be headed to President Clinton by the end of the week.

Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) vowed that the Senate will not leave for its midwinter recess “until this legislation is completed in a form to be sent to the President.”

During its lengthy deliberations, the Senate took two steps that avoided the need for potentially time-consuming negotiations with the House, which overwhelmingly passed the relief bill last week. They concerned the two controversial issues sparked by the aid package: benefits for illegal immigrants and how to pay for the massive relief bill.

The Senate adopted a compromise measure to tighten restrictions on some aid to illegal immigrants. It prohibits longer-term aid for undocumented residents and requires that federal agencies take “reasonable steps” to determine the legal status of an applicant for housing, food stamps or loans of 90 days or longer.

Humanitarian aid, including short-term shelter, would not be affected by the ban.

Senators also rejected a sweeping bipartisan proposal offered by Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) and five colleagues to add to the bill a package of $94 billion in spending cuts over five years. Kerrey’s initiative was defeated by a 65-31 vote after a daylong debate.

The Senate is considering a bill that is not substantially different from the version adopted by the House a week ago. The Senate bill contains $3.44 billion in largely non-controversial budget cuts--only slightly more than the $2.5 billion approved by the House.

Federal disaster aid has traditionally been funded by adding the sums to the budget deficit. But, reflecting intense concern over new deficit spending, various senators are also proposing additional lists of deeper spending cuts.

The urgency of the need for swift earthquake aid was underscored by senators who noted that the Department of Transportation has nearly reached its $100-million cap on emergency spending for a single state. In addition, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which last week shifted most of its resources to humanitarian needs in California, has only enough funds to last 10 more days.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said that victims of the Jan. 17 temblor have submitted nearly 300,000 applications for FEMA aid, 21,659 submissions for Small Business Administration loans and 13,717 requests for Housing and Urban Development rental housing subsidies. And she said that 100,000 applications for emergency food stamps had been approved.

The bill includes $4.7 billion for FEMA to provide individual assistance and temporary housing and rebuild schools, water systems and other public facilities; $1.35 billion to the DOT to rebuild damaged freeways and bridges; $1.1 billion in low-interest SBA loans to assist homeowners, renters and small businesses and $200 million for HUD rent subsidies.

A hurdle to the bill’s passage was removed when Feinstein, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), HUD Secretary Henry G. Cisneros and other Administration officials negotiated a compromise with Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) on his proposal to toughen a House amendment prohibiting non-emergency aid to illegal immigrants.

The modification, reached during a meeting in the Capitol, requires federal agencies to take reasonable steps to determine whether any applicant for assistance of 90 days or longer is in the country legally. Reid had proposed to exempt emergency aid but did not specify a time frame for what constituted non-emergency aid.

Feinstein called the measure “legal and enforceable” and maintained it would not “create gridlock in the preliminary screening for emergency aid.” And, she added, “It is ample time for somebody to be required to demonstrate that they are here lawfully.”

She said that it would be up to FEMA, HUD and the SBA to “determine what they consider reasonable steps.” The amendment was adopted by voice vote.

The House version of the illegal immigrant aid amendment did not require federal officials to check legal status. Rep. Julian C. Dixon (D-Los Angeles), who quarterbacked House passage of the earthquake bill, said the revised ban on aid to illegal immigrants was acceptable to him.