Highlights of the roughly $390 billion spending package for fiscal 2000 that the House approved Thursday.Education: President Clinton won $1.3 billion of the $1.4 billion he wanted to help communities hire teachers as part of his seven-year plan to add 100,000 teachers. Republicans won the right for school districts to use up to one-fourth of the money for teacher training. Clinton also won extra money for after-school programs, tutoring for high school students and Hispanic education. Overall, bill provides $35.7 billion for education, nearly $1 billion above Clinton's initial request, with added money for special education, Pell grants and Head Start.
Environment: $651 million for purchasing federal and state park land, including New Mexico's Baca Ranch, desert parcels in California and Everglades purchases in Florida, and $83 million to help restore Pacific salmon. Oil companies using public land will have to pay higher royalties beginning March 15; GOP sought a longer delay. Many hard-rock mines on federal land are blocked from expanding the size of their waste sites.
Health: $17.9 billion for National Institutes of Health, $2 billion above Clinton's request. $1.6 billion for Ryan White AIDS treatment program, $84 million more than Clinton's request.
Foreign aid: $926 million in unpaid United Nations dues, which was Clinton's full request. In return, federally subsidized family planning groups prohibited from activities abroad providing abortions or lobbying for eased abortion laws. Clinton can waive the prohibition, but a small part of budget for overseas family planning would be cut. Clinton also won his full request of $1.8 billion for peace process involving Israel, Jordan and Palestinians, plus extra money for international debt relief and for reducing nuclear threat from former Soviet states.
Law enforcement: $595 million to help hire local police officers, about half of Clinton's request.
Miscellaneous: $305 million for legal aid for poor, $35 million below Clinton's request; $98 million for National Endowment for the Arts, $52 million less than Clinton wanted; $4.5 billion for 2000 census, the full amount Clinton sought; $576 million for agriculture emergencies, including farms in North Carolina flooded during Hurricane Floyd.