On the Road to Budget Deal, Political Bumps and Peanuts

With the $500-billion spending deal hanging in the balance, the White House brandished a last-minute veto threat because of a road construction dispute at the center of a hotly contested Ohio congressional election campaign, Democratic and Republican sources said.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) swiftly backed down, and the measure, which threatened to damage the political chances of a Clinton ally, was removed, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Nevertheless, Republicans hoped to use the behind-the-scenes maneuvering to their advantage in the next 2 1/2 weeks as they try to wrest Ohio’s 6th Congressional District from Democratic Rep. Ted Strickland, a Clinton ally.

The GOP had slipped into the omnibus spending bill a short provision allocating road money the way Strickland’s opponent, Ohio Lt. Gov. Nancy Hollister, has proposed and made a key issue in her campaign. Strickland has claimed the whole thing is just a ploy to give his GOP opponent something to wave in front of voters.

He made a personal appeal Tuesday to Clinton, buttonholing him at an education event in Silver Spring, Md., to get the provision stripped from the bill.

Meanwhile, peanut-state lawmakers hoping to overturn a government directive aimed at helping peanut allergy sufferers were stymied Friday.

Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) blocked any action on legislation to overturn the peanut directive, despite pressure from Republican leaders. Spokeswoman Rosanne Dupras said Wolf would not discuss the issue while negotiations continue. She refused to comment on reports that Wolf is allergic to crabs and therefore might be more sympathetic to allergy sufferers.

The Transportation Department ordered airlines in August to set aside at least three rows where no peanuts could be served whenever they had an advance request from a passenger with a medically documented peanut allergy.

Peanut farmers fear the directive could cause airlines to drop peanuts completely.