Congress OKs Anti-Terror Package

Congress sent President Bush a $28.9 billion counterterrorism package Wednesday, culminating an election-year struggle over the price tag that took the White House and lawmakers four months to resolve.

The Senate endorsed the measure by 92-7, granting final congressional approval to a bill the House had approved Tuesday by a 397-32 vote. Administration officials have praised the bill but have not clearly said President Bush will sign it, although lawmakers and aides are confident the measure will become law.

"Congress and the President should make those critical investments that will protect Americans now, today, without delay," said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., a leading author of the bill.

Half the funds in the bill are allocated towards the Pentagon and intelligence activities, while the rest are for programs like security at ports and nuclear facilities, New York's rebuilding efforts, aid to allies like Afghanistan and Indonesia and a pile of home-district projects won by lawmakers.

The measure, for the remaining weeks of the federal budget year that ends Sept. 30, is the latest outpouring of federal money in response to Sept. 11. Congress provided $40 billion in the days just after the terrorist attacks.

President Bush had asked Congress for another $27.1 billion last March. The Democratic-run Senate's bill reached $31.5 billion, but with huge budget deficits returning, White House officials threatened to veto anything exceeding the Republican-run House's nearly $29 billion measure.

Democrats said Mr. Bush's demands for lower spending showed he wasn't serious about buttressing domestic security, and many Republicans joined them in seeking extra money.

But with the federal fiscal year nearing its end amid administration complaints that the Pentagon and the Transportation Security Administration were scrounging for dollars, party leaders were unwilling to wage a veto fight against a popular president. Lawmakers imposed their own priorities on the bill's components but largely stayed within the overall limit he set.

"This is a victory for the president and for taxpayers," said White House budget office spokesman Trent Duffy. "Congress met the president's demands to do what's necessary without going overboard."

The bill includes $14.5 billion for defense and intelligence; $6.7 billion for aviation safety, the FBI and other domestic security programs; $5.5 billion for New York; and $2.1 billion for foreign aid and U.S. diplomatic programs.

It is dotted with other specific projects such as $6 million to upgrade a U.S. Geological Survey data center near Sioux Falls, S.D.; $10 million for farmers near the Rio Grande involved in a water dispute with Mexico; and $7 million for enhancing water supplies in New Mexico.

One provision would let Colombia use U.S. aid to combat specified right- and left-wing groups characterized as "terrorist organizations"; current restrictions limit the funds to fighting narcotics trafficking.

Another would restrict U.S. participation with the new International Criminal Court, a permanent war crimes tribunal that critics contended might prosecute American troops.

Also carried were $1 billion for Pell grants for low-income students; $417 million for veterans' medical care; $400 million to help states improve voting systems; $205 million to bail out Amtrak; $200 million for fighting AIDS and other diseases abroad; and $100 million for countering western wildfires and floods.

To lower the bill's net price tag to $28.9 billion, lawmakers included $3 billion in savings from government travel and administrative costs, unused housing assistance and other programs.

Another separate provision would let President Bush withhold a $5.1 billion portion of the measure, which would further reduce its price tag.