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Senate bill includes $5 million to reimburse Seattle for WTO
Tuesday, July 18, 2000
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- The Senate Appropriations Committee today is expected to approve $5 million to reimburse Seattle for some of the costs of the World Trade Organization protests.
Washington state's two senators, who are both on the Appropriations Committee and have been pressing for the reimbursement, learned yesterday that the money is included in a $36.7 billion bill funding the Commerce, Justice and State departments.
"This is great news," said Cynthia Bergman, spokeswoman for Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash. "The challenge before us will be to retain this in conference committee -- and he (Gorton) is confident that we will be able to do so."
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said it is important for Seattle to get the money or cities will be discouraged from hosting events like the World Trade Organization conference.
"It was a bipartisan effort," Murray said. "Everyone agreed we needed to do this and move it forward."
But the $5 million was not included in the House version of the Commerce spending bill, so the two senators will try to defend the Seattle provision when the bill moves to a conference committee.
The city of Seattle spent about $9 million on the World Trade Organization protests, with regional law-enforcement agencies out an additional $3 million.
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