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Wednesday, October 25, 2000

Overseas abortion aid stalemate overcome
Congressional negotiators agree to allocate money for groups that perform abortions
By Alan Fram
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Negotiators reached an accord Tuesday in the prickly fight over U.S. aid to groups performing abortions abroad, as bargainers intensified their pre-election effort to finish Congress' delinquent budget work this week.
   House-Senate negotiators shook hands Tuesday on a $14.9 billion foreign aid measure bearing the abortion compromise plus $435 million to help relieve the more than $100 billion in international debt owed by about three dozen poor countries.
   The bill would also provide up to $100 million in aid for Serbia in the wake of the recent election defeat of President Slobodan Milosevic, though there would be conditions on some of the money.
   The agreement on one of the highest-profile abortion issues would eliminate a ban enacted last year on giving taxpayer dollars to organizations that use private funds to perform abortions overseas or advocate liberalized abortion laws there. In another victory for abortion-rights groups, it would also provide $425 million to overseas family planning programs, up from $385 million Congress provided last year.
   But in a win for anti-abortion forces, the measure would forbid the expenditure of any of the money until Feb. 15. That would in effect leave a decision on spending the money to either Republican Gov. George W. Bush or Democratic Vice President Al Gore, the two presidential candidates.
   In 1984, President Reagan imposed the restrictions on giving family planning money to groups performing abortions overseas. President Clinton lifted the ban in 1993.
   But last year, Clinton signed the restrictions into law as the price for winning $926 million to pay dues owed to the United Nations. The president has said repeatedly that he would not agree to renew the prohibition again.
   Republicans planned to begin pushing the bill through Congress on Wednesday. Democrats said they believed President Clinton would sign the measure.
   Agreement on the foreign aid bill leaves budget bargainers with major differences on just two of the 13 annual spending bills for fiscal 2001, which began on Oct. 1.

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