Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Back UN Dues Tied to Abortion Curb > WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate, following the House's > lead, approved legislation Tuesday imposing abortion > restrictions on the payment of $926 million in back > dues to the United Nations. The White House quickly > announced President Clinton would veto the bill, even > though the U.N. payments are a top priority. > > The vote was a narrow 51 to 49. > > Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., warned that > a veto would be ``a big mistake,'' and said he doubted > Clinton would get another chance this year to get the > U.N. money through the Republican-led Congress. ``In my > opinion, this is it,'' Lott told reporters. > > But White House deputy press secretary Barry Toiv said, > ``By including this extraneous but controversial > provision relating to family planning, the Congress > leaves the president no choice but to veto the bill. > > ``We hope they will get the bill up here quickly so the > president can veto it and we can move on to separating > this issue from this essential legislation, as it ought > to be separated,'' Toiv said. > > The legislation also would authorize an array of State > Department programs and reorganize the foreign-policy > bureaucracy. > > The bill, which passed the House last month, next goes > to Clinton. The thin margin of approval -- where > Democrats opposing passage were joined by Republicans > who support abortion rights -- suggested a veto would > be sustained. > > In remarks in the Rose Garden, Clinton condemned > Congress' failure to provide payment of the back U.N. > dues without strings attached or to approve his request > for $18 billion to help the International Monetary Fund > ease the strains of the Asian financial crisis. > > ``We think that different rules apply to us and we have > a right not to pay our way so we can have this fight > over an issue that is unrelated to our U.N. > responsibilities or our IMF responsibilities,'' the > president said. ``I don't think that is a responsible, > mature message to send to the world by the leading > country in the world.'' > > The United States risks losing its voting rights in the > U.N. General Assembly if the long-delinquent dues are > not paid soon, U.S. and U.N. officials have warned > Congress. Still, the U.S. position in the Security > Council, where it holds veto power, would be > unaffected. > > The provision is the latest in a string of abortion > curbs conservatives in Congress have placed on > foreign-aid bills over the past decade. It would > prohibit any U.S. payments to the United Nations from > being used for international family planning groups > that support abortion rights, even if they use their > own money to lobby for abortion-law changes. > > Gloria Feldt, president of the Planned Parenthood > Federation of America, called the Senate action ``very > disheartening.'' > > ``The president should veto it. The president has said > he will veto it. We have no reason to believe he will > not veto it,'' Feldt said in an interview. > > Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., the Senate Foreign Relations > Committee's senior Democrat, said Clinton would sign > the bill ``in a flash'' if it didn't contain the > abortion restrictions, calling the Republican action > ``legislative blackmail.'' > > But Republican leaders urged Clinton to sign the bill. > > ``He has waved that veto flag time and time again,'' > said Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms, > R-N.C. ``One way or the other, this is the end of it.'' > Helms joined Lott in suggesting this was the only way > Clinton would get the U.N. money and foreign-policy > reorganization his administration supports. > > The abortion restrictions were added to the legislation > last year by House conservatives. Because Tuesday's > bill resulted from negotiations between House and > Senate lawmakers, it could not be amended further. > > Meanwhile, the Senate debated another Clinton > administration foreign-policy priority: expanding NATO > to add the former Warsaw Pact nations of Poland, > Hungary and the Czech Republic. A final vote was > expected by week's end. Leaders in both parties have > predicted approval by more than the two-thirds vote > needed for a treaty. > > In working on the bill, the Senate rejected, 76-24, a > proposed amendment to limit the U.S. share of expansion > costs to 25 percent of the total bill. ``We shouldn't > sign the American taxpayer's name to a blank check,'' > said sponsor Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. > > The administration insists the expansion will cost U.S. > taxpayers no more than $400 million over 10 years. Bill > sponsors said the amendment would tie U.S. hands in a > crisis and make it harder for U.S. weapons > manufacturers to compete with European rivals. > > In a related move, House and Senate negotiators held > their first meeting Tuesday on an emergency spending > bill to provide funds for keeping U.S. troops in Bosnia > and the Persian Gulf and to provide flood and storm > relief at home. > > When Clinton sent the bill to Congress last winter, it > included the IMF and U.N. money, but Republican leaders > set those sections aside. > > Members are starting to squirrel little projects into > the bill. One project -- $1 million for a natural > disaster emergency response in Alabama -- was line-item > vetoed by Clinton in November when it had only a > $450,000 price tag. It's sponsor, Sen. Richard Shelby, > R-Ala., said the project's needs had increased. > > The House negotiators voted 7-6 to accept > Senate-approved language letting Albuquerque, N.M., > build a road through the Petroglyph National Monument. > Some Indians contend the road would disturb a religious > site, and Democrats voted against it. > > Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., senior Democrat on House > Appropriations Committee, warned that Clinton may veto > this bill, too, even though it contains military and > disaster-relief funds he wants, saying ``the totality > of add-ons'' could force Clinton to veto it. - Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
