Congress on Friday approved two compromise bills to fund the costs of the Persian Gulf war, but only after modifying them to allow President Bush more discretion in giving aid to Jordan.
Bush had threatened a veto over a provision that prohibited resumption of aid to Jordan because of that country`s support for Iraq during the Persian Gulf war. But in a nod to Bush, House and Senate negotiators changed the provision to allow the president to resume the aid if he certifies that Jordan is assisting the peace process in the Middle East.
Since Bush already has cut off aid to Jordan, the dispute was more over which branch of government has the right to conduct foreign affairs than over the aid itself.
House Speaker Thomas Foley (D-Wash.) maintained Congress had not lost clout with the compromise. ”This is a compromise bill . . . trying to come to a conclusion between differing opinions on a number of subjects between the House and the Senate and the administration,” he said. ”I am satisfied it is a good agreement.”
The bills were approved 340-48 and 379-11 in the House and on voice votes in the Senate. Approval came with little discussion as members of Congress were anxious to leave town and begin their two-week spring recess.
One bill is a $5.2 billion measure providing money for war aid to Israel and Turkey and many miscellaneous items.
The other bill contains $42.6 billion to directly fund the costs of the war-of this amount, $15 billion will come from American taxpayers, with the rest from foreign sources. If the total cost is covered by the allies, no U.S. funds will be allocated.
The compromise bill softened language requiring the allies to complete payment on their pledges toward the war`s cost before qualifying for U.S. arms sales.
Originally, the bill said any country that has ”made a commitment to contribute resources . . . and has not made such contributions” would not get arms sales. The new version changed the second phrase to read ”has not fulfilled its commitment.”
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) said the wording made no substantive difference, but White House aides apparently were happier with the second version.
So far, only about $26 billion of the promised $54.5 billion in aid has actually been paid to the U.S. by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Germany, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea.
Dropped from the bill was a provision to boost dairy prices. Bush also had threated a veto over this issue.
While the primary purpose of the bills was to fund the war, many extraneous items found their way onto the bills since they were viewed as
”must” legislation.
One of the most controversial was a provision for a $700 million overhaul of the carrier USS Kennedy at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Pennsylvania representatives argued that the overhaul was necessary, but others insisted the move was aimed more at saving the Philadelphia facility from closure than doing essential naval work. However, powerful Pennsylvania lawmakers, such as Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and William Gray (D-Pa.) prevailed.
A fuming Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) tried to get the provision removed in the House, but was turned back on a 295-91 vote.
”I`d like to see how those guys would vote if the work was being done in California,” Burton said.
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One bill also included a provision urging the Navy not to mothball the battleship Missouri. Some members of Congress want the Missouri-on which the peace with Japan was signed at the end of World War II-to be around for the 50th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor next Dec. 7.
The bill also includes $100 million to buy new Patriot ground-to-air missiles, which were successful in intercepting Iraqi Scuds, $1.5 billion for food stamps and $100 million for the District of Columbia to help cope with its budget crisis.