Facing growing disgust from the American public as
well as inner-party revolt, Republican congressional leaders
abandoned riders that stalled a flood relief bill for more than a
month.
President Clinton vetoed an early bill
because it contained several unrelated measures – one of which
would have opened public lands to road building. He blamed
Republican sponsors for withholding money from flood-ravaged states
(HCN, 5/26/97).
As pressure mounted and moderate
Republicans began to break rank, GOP leaders did an about-face. On
June 16, both the House and Senate easily passed a clean bill that
will provide $5.6 billion to 35 states.
“It’s
unfortunate that it had to be so sloppy and ugly,” Republican Rep.
Bob Livingston of Louisiana told CongressDaily. “But now, it’s
over.”
* Greg
Hanscom
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Republican riders toppled.
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