Senate passes foreign aid bill
By ANDREW TAYLOR
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER Published in the Seattle Post-IntelligencerWASHINGTON -- The Senate voted Thursday to lift restrictions on family planning aid to overseas health organizations that perform abortions or promote the procedure as a method of family planning. The vote came as the Senate passed by a 81-12 vote a $34 billion measure funding foreign aid and U.S. diplomacy. Companion legislation passed the House in June, and the measure now heads to House-Senate negotiations over a final version. On the family planning vote, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., won a 53-41 tally reversing U.S. policy regarding aid to pro-abortion groups. But Boxer's move has dim prospects of becoming law. President Bush is a passionate advocate of the current policy and has promised to veto any attempt to undermine it.
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