The Senate, hoping to win White House support for a $162 billion bill to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, likely will stop insisting the measure include millions to help Mississippi recover from Hurricane Katrina.
The House approved the bill last week, rejecting a Senate version that contained $20 million for rental assistance vouchers for low-income Mississippians, $11.5 million to repair barracks at Camp Shelby that were damaged by March storms, $10.5 million in housing assistance for veterans in Gulfport and $5 million for a flood-proofing project in Waveland.
The bill approved by the Senate also contained more than $500 million for a series of dune and barrier island restoration projects along the coast.
Money for the Mississippi projects was stripped by the House because the spending bill faced a White House veto. To win White House approval – or enough Republican support to override the veto – the House eliminated $10 billion in domestic spending and tough anti-war language from its bill.
Magnolia Tribune
