SENATE READIES $1 BILLION FOR COLOMBIA

Aid To Help In Battle With Drug Traffickers

WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Wednesday night endorsed an aid package of
nearly $1 billion to help Colombia equip and train security forces to combat
drug traffickers in a country where the narcotics trade and guerrilla
insurgency support each other.

Although the Senate delayed until today final passage of the legislation
containing the aid, that outcome was not in doubt, and senators completed
work on the portions of the bill dealing with Colombia.

The Senate has now set aside almost $1.3 billion for assistance to Colombia
over the next two years, counting $300 million in an earlier military bill.
In late March, the House approved $1.7 billion over two years in emergency
spending for the nation, one of Washington's most important Latin American
allies.

Anticipating Wednesday's votes, House and Senate Republican leaders met in
the morning to discuss how to reconcile the two competing versions, which
have several crucial differences, so that an aid package could be approved
before the July 4 recess.

In recent weeks, President Clinton and President Andres Pastrana of Colombia
have appealed to congressional leaders to rush passage of an anti-drug plan
to help Colombia and other Andean nations.

But critics argued in debate on Wednesday that the aid package would ensnare
the United States in an open-ended conflict that has claimed tens of
thousands of lives over the past 40 years.

``The capacity of this body for self-delusion appears to this senator to be
unlimited,'' said Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash. ``There has been no
consideration of the consequences, cost and length of involvement. This bill
says, let's get into war now and justify it later.''