WASHINGTON

HOUSE REJECTS AMENDMENTS TO WEAKEN CUBA SANCTIONS

Led by the Cuban-American community’s representatives in Congress, the House yesterday defeated efforts by three Democratic representatives – Charles Rangel of Harlem, Barbara Lee of California, and James Davis of Florida – to ease America’s sanctions against Cuba’s communist dictator, Fidel Castro.

Framing the achievement as “historic,” one of the congressmen leading the anti-Castro charge, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Republican of Florida, said yesterday’s votes against the anti-sanctions amendments were an important turning point in the struggle in Washington for Cuban freedom.

The Democrats’ anti-sanctions measures are introduced every year as amendments to Treasury Department appropriations bills, Mr. Diaz-Balart said. “We used to lose those votes every year,” he said. The defeat of the amendments yesterday, the congressman said, demonstrated dwindling support for Mr. Castro among lawmakers in Washington, owing in part to President Bush’s strong stand against Havana’s strongman. The president had threatened to veto the amendments if they passed the House, Mr. Diaz-Balart said.

The defeated proposal included an amendment sponsored by Ms. Lee that would have abolished restrictions on academic travel to Cuba, defeated by a vote of 233 to 187; a proposed amendment from Mr. Davis that would have prohibited using federal money to enforce laws regulating Cuban-Americans’ travel to Cuba, defeated by a vote of 211 to 208; and an amendment introduced by Mr. Rangel that would have lifted the American embargo on Cuba, defeated by a vote of 250 to 169.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

HOUSE MOVES QUICKLY TO FILL VETERANS DEFICIT

President Bush asked lawmakers yesterday to immediately spend nearly $1 billion to fill a politically troubling shortage in veterans’ health-care funds. The House was moving swiftly to answer the request. The GOP’s quick action did not dampen Democratic complaints that the administration could have seen and stopped the problem before it became an emergency. Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson faced testy lawmakers to deliver details about the funding shortfall. He said the VA needed more money to cover veterans’ dependents, long-term care, energy costs, and rising demand from veterans of all combat eras. The department also underestimated the number of wounded troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

House Republicans quickly assembled a supplemental spending bill to fulfill the president’s $975 million request, a day after the Senate voted unanimously to give the department an extra $1.5 billion to cover that shortfall and more.

The VA would not get any additional funds until the House and Senate reconcile their different bills.

– Associated Press

DEEP THROAT’S IDENTITY WAS NEARLY DISCOVERED IN 1976

The identity of Deep Throat, the Washington Post’s key Watergate source, was almost revealed nearly three decades ago, according to Bob Woodward’s new book on his relationship with W. Mark Felt.

In “The Secret Man,” to be published next week by Simon & Schuster, Mr. Woodward – now a Post assistant managing editor – writes that he learned in 1976 from then-assistant attorney general Stanley Pottinger that Mr. Felt, who had been the no. 2 man at the FBI, had given himself away while testifying before a grand jury. Asked, “Were you Deep Throat?” Mr. Felt initially said, “No,” but his stunned look alerted Mr. Pottinger to the probability that he was lying.

“The Secret Man” contains no major revelations. Deep Throat’s identity was revealed in a Vanity Fair article a month ago, and Mr. Woodward has already written the story in the Washington Post of how Mr. Felt became his famous secret source. But the book adds numerous revealing details to the well-known story.

In that grand jury proceeding, Mr. Woodward writes, Mr. Pottinger quietly reminded Mr. Felt that he was under oath. He then offered to withdraw the question as irrelevant to the subject of investigation, which was illegal break-ins conducted by the FBI in pursuit of antiwar radicals from the Weather Underground. Mr. Felt quickly accepted the offer. Mr. Pottinger told Mr. Woodward, who didn’t confirm his conclusion, that he would keep his knowledge to himself.

“To his eternal credit,” Mr. Woodward writes, he did just that.

– The Washington Post

DOCUMENTS DETAIL REDO OF LINCOLN MEMORIAL VIDEO

The National Park Service sought out footage of “conservative – right-wing demonstrations” to revise the video shown to visitors at the Lincoln Memorial after being pressured by conservatives who complained the display implied Abraham Lincoln supported abortion, homosexuality, and liberal causes. Park Service documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show officials purchased video of President Bush, pro-gun advocates, and pro-Iraq war rallies and also considered removing images of President Clinton at the memorial. Park Service officials said they wanted the video to be politically balanced but refused to provide a copy of the revision to the Associated Press, saying it was still being evaluated.

– Associated Press