House OKs $15 Billion in Relief for Natural Disasters

The House on Saturday unanimously approved nearly $15 billion for hurricane victims and struggling farmers as Congress moved a step closer to showering money on Florida and other pivotal states in the upcoming elections.

After weeks of delay over everything from budget cuts to milk subsidies, House-Senate bargainers added $14.5 billion in natural disaster aid to a $10-billion military construction measure.

With both chambers holding rare weekend sessions to clear bills before election day Nov. 2, the House passed the measure 374 to 0 and recessed for the remainder of the campaign. Senate passage was possible as early as today.

The legislation underscored the heightened political sensitivities leading up to next month’s voting.

Republicans and Democrats were eager to quickly ship aid to vote-rich Florida. And though President Bush never proposed aid for drought, floods and other agricultural emergencies and House Republicans initially fought it, they ultimately supported that money -- some of which will go to Midwestern states such as Ohio that are election battlegrounds.

The House, by 368 to 0, also passed a bill providing $33 billion for the Homeland Security Department for the new budget year, which began Oct. 1. Senators were determined to approve the measure before leaving town to campaign.

Congress finally took up the Homeland Security measure after Eastern and Midwest lawmakers temporarily abandoned their fight to extend a milk subsidy program for two years.

Lawmakers cleared other roadblocks as well:

* Congress approved a $447-billion spending bill for the Pentagon. The measure includes a military pay raise and would let the Air Force buy 100 Boeing 767s for use as midair refueling tankers but would block a proposal to lease them.

* The Senate voted 79 to 6 for a bill reorganizing the way its committees oversee intelligence agencies.

* Congress sent Bush a bill increasing access to DNA testing for rape victims and convicted felons.

* The Senate sent Bush a bill ending the government’s guarantee to banks of a 9.5% rate of return on some student loans. The guarantee had meant large profits for lenders at a time of much lower interest rates.

The natural disaster bill became home to pet projects for numerous lawmakers.

Alaska lawmakers won language setting up federal guarantees for up to $18 billion in loans for construction of a proposed pipeline to deliver natural gas from the state’s North Slope to the Lower 48 states.

Although much of the money for disasters was not directed at specific states, Florida was clearly in line to receive a large share of it. But $50 million was set aside for crop losses in Virginia; $3 million was set aside for fruit and vegetable losses in North Carolina; and $7.2 million was earmarked for an agricultural transportation cooperative in Hawaii.

Overall, the natural disaster measure included $11.6 billion for Florida and other storm-struck states. Some $6.5 billion of the money was for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the aid it provides to individuals and state and local governments.