Iraq spending bill includes dollars for Calif. farmers, levees
By ERICA WERNER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — A war spending bill headed for President Bush’s signature Friday includes millions for California citrus and dairy farmers, salmon fishermen and levee repairs.
It also extends for one year payments to rural counties hurt by cutbacks in federal logging — money critical to some northern California counties.
The bill, which contains $95 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and billions in domestic projects, passed the House 280-142 and the Senate 80-14 late Thursday.
Final passage capped weeks of dispute after Democrats dropped Iraq troop withdrawal deadlines that Bush promised to veto. That concession led to “no” votes from liberals including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., voted “yes.”
“I voted for the bill because it provides funding for our troops and for critical domestic emergency spending,” said Feinstein. “But I will continue to push for a change in our nation’s policy in Iraq.”
Spending for California projects includes:
• $60.4 million to help fishermen in California and Oregon hurt by a sharply curtailed fishing season.
• $16 million for dairy farmers in California who suffered losses in the 2006 heat wave.
• $16 million for citrus farmers in California to rehabilitate orchards damaged in the five-night freeze in January.
• $146.3 million for levee repairs nationwide. The 213 levee sites on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers damaged by winter and spring storms in 2006 would be eligible.
• $12 million for drug eradication efforts on U.S. Forest Service lands.
• $3 billion for agriculture disaster relief nationwide, including $1.5 billion for crop loss compensation, $1.2 billion for livestock loss compensation and $16 million for farm worker assistance grants. Farmers will be eligible for compensation if they suffered at least a 25 percent loss.
• $425 million to fund the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act for one year to help counties that relied on federal logging. The bill would provide payments to more than 700 timber counties in 39 states. California received $69 million under the program last year and affected counties include Siskiyou, Trinity, Plumas, Shasta and Lassen.
Rep. John Doolittle, R-Rocklin, said counties in his district would receive over $23 million, “which I hope will prevent some of the layoffs of teachers and public works officials which were scheduled to occur.”
But he said he was disappointed the extension was just for one year instead of the five-year extension the Senate earlier had signed off on.
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