House Approves Spending Measures

The House approved a compromise bill Wednesday providing $123 billion for education, health and labor programs, outspending President Bush by billions as lawmakers sought to minimize clashes over social spending.

The legislation, approved 393-30, provides $11 billion more than last year’s measure and exceeds Bush’s request by $7 billion. The added funds reflected a desire to avoid partisan battling over routine government functions following the Sept. 11 attacks.

The extra money let lawmakers fatten spending for schools, biomedical research and job training. They also set aside nearly $1 billion for home-district projects.

“This truly is a people’s bill,” said Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Ohio), a chief author of the measure.

The House also voted, 357-66, to pass a $15.4-billion foreign aid measure. It contains a slight cut in assistance to U.N. family planning programs, a bow to conservatives.

The House planned to complete the final spending bill for this fiscal year today--a $318-billion defense measure, to which a $20-billion anti-terrorism package is attached.

Senate passage of all three bills was possible today. That would finish Congress’ work on the 13 annual spending bills for fiscal 2002, which began on Oct. 1.

The measure financing education, labor and health would provide $48.9 billion for schools, 16% more than last year and 10% higher than Bush’s request.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) couldn’t resist making the political point that the compromise bill is “more responsive to the needs of the American people” than Bush’s proposal.

The measure includes substantial increases for research by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and retraining some jobless workers.

The legislation is dotted with hundreds of home-district projects for health care facilities, education and health care programs and museum exhibits.