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 The House Appropriations Committee approved an estimated $2.85 billion in emergency funding
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 to assist California's recovery from last week's earthquake 
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and to extend further aid to East Coast victims of Hurricane Hugo.
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 The package was termed excessive by the Bush administration,
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 but it also provoked a struggle with influential California lawmakers
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 who sought unsuccessfully to add nearly $1 billion more and waive current restrictions
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 to expedite the distribution of funds.
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 By a 26-7 margin, the committee scuttled the more expensive alternative,
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 and the debate forced a strained confrontation between Appropriations Committee Chairman Jamie Whitten 
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(D., Miss.)
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 and his party's largest state delegation in the House.
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 I have no regrets
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 about going forward,
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 said Rep. Vic Fazio 
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(D.,Calif.),
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 who sought later to play down the sometimes hostile tone of the long evening meeting.
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 We are the Golden State, 
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Mr. Fazio said,
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 and there is a certain amount of jealousy.
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 The $2.85 billion package incorporates $500 million for small-business loans, $1 billion in highway construction funds, and $1.35 billion
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 divided between general emergency assistance and a reserve 
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to be available to President Bush
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 to meet unanticipated costs from the two disasters.
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 The funding is attached to a stopgap bill
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 to keep most of the government operating through Nov. 15.
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 The measure is expected to come before the House today,
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 and Congress is under pressure
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 to complete action before midnight EDT tomorrow,
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 when the current continuing resolution expires.
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 Given California's size and political importance,
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 the White House is eager to appear generous.
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 But in private meetings yesterday, Budget Director Richard Darman argued
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 that only $1.5 billion in new federal appropriations are needed 
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to supplement existing resources.
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 A White House budget office analysis estimates
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 that $500 million 
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-- or half the level in the committee bill --
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 is needed for highway assistance
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 to meet California's needs,
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 and the administration rejects the notion
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 that new appropriations are needed 
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to finance disaster loans by the Small Business Administration.
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 Everybody appreciates
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 that it is a national disaster
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 and that we've got to address it, 
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said Mr. Darman,
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 who came to the Capitol
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 to meet with Mr. Whitten and California lawmakers before the committee session.
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 I would hope very much
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 that we wouldn't end up in a kind of situation 
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where you have a bidding war and then a veto threat.
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 Although this White House pressure was clearly a factor among committee Republicans,
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 no single influence was greater than Mr. Whitten.
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 A master of pork-barrel politics, he had crafted the $2.85 billion package in vintage style 
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and used the full force of his chairmanship
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 to keep the proposal intact
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 and dismiss any alternative.
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 When Mr. Fazio offered the California-backed $3.84 billion plan,
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 Mr. Whitten insisted
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 that the full 14 pages be read aloud by the panel's clerk
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 to underscore the range of legislative changes
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 also sought by the delegation.
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 On the chairman's motion, the California package was subsequently reduced to less-binding report language,
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 and
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 even when this was accepted as such on a voice vote,
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 Mr. Whitten pointedly opposed it.
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 More important than money in many cases are waivers
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 California is seeking on current restrictions
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 covering federal highway funds, such as a $100 million cap
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 on how much any single state can receive in emergency funds in a year.
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 Mr. Whitten's package appears to accomplish this purpose,
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 but the state faces more resistance in its bid for an extended waiver 
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on having to put up any matching funds on repairs
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 completed in the next six months.
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 A member in the House leadership and skilled legislator, Mr. Fazio nonetheless found himself burdened not only by California's needs but by Hurricane Hugo amendments
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 he accepted in a vain effort
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 to build support in the panel.
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 The California Democrat appeared embarrassed by provisions
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 inserted on behalf of owners of private beaches in the Virgin Islands,
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 and lumber interests sought to add another $100 million in federal aid 
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to plant timber on private land in North and South Carolina.
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 California's high-priced real estate puts it in an awkward position, too.
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 One provision last night would have raised the cap on disaster loans to $500,000 from $100,000 per household 
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to accommodate San Francisco losses.
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