Pubdate: Fri, 17 Jul 2009
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Page: B02
Copyright: 2009 The Washington Post
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange)

ABORTION FUNDS, MARIJUANA AMONG SUBJECTS IN HOUSE BILL

The D.C. government could fund abortions for the poor and take steps 
toward legalizing marijuana for medical purposes under a spending 
bill passed by the House yesterday.

The measure passed by a narrow 219 to 208 vote. Many antiabortion 
Democrats voted against it because of the move by Democratic leaders 
to permit the D.C. government to use locally raised tax revenue to 
provide abortions, reversing a long-standing ban imposed by Congress. 
The bill would also begin to phase out a school voucher program for 
D.C. students that is popular with Republicans, and it would 
establish a needle exchange program for intravenous drug users to 
prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Republicans were blocked from being able to vote on reversing the 
Democratic moves but forced an amendment to prohibit the use of 
federal funding for needle exchange programs in many parts of the 
District, prompting concerns among AIDS activists that the city could 
lose a valuable weapon in the fight against the disease.

The amendment, offered by Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), would prohibit 
the city from using federal funds to distribute needles for the 
"injection of illegal drugs . . . within 1,000 feet of a public or 
private day care center, elementary school, vocational school, 
secondary school, college, junior college, university, public 
swimming pool, park, playground, video arcade or youth center."

A companion bill in the Senate does not contain language prohibiting 
the use of federal dollars for needle exchanges. But it is not 
certain that provisions to permit abortion funding and medicinal use 
of marijuana will survive when the Senate takes up the spending bill.

The measure provides $768 million in federal money for the D.C. 
government. During GOP control of Congress, Republicans routinely 
used Congress's authority over the District to impose conservative 
social policies on the overwhelmingly Democratic city.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake