National Desk
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

WASHINGTON
PRESIDENT BUSH REACHES OUT TO AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY
President Bush offered warm greetings to the American Jewish community last night at a dinner in Washingon marking the 350th anniversary of Jewish settlement in America.
“The stock of Abraham have thrived here like nowhere else,” Mr. Bush said to about 900 Jewish leaders gathered at the National Building Museum.
Mr. Bush said he met yesterday in New York with Prime Minister Sharon. “I admire Prime Minister Sharon. He is a man of courage. He is a man of peace,” the president said.”We condemn the desecration of synagogues in Gaza that followed Israel’s withdrawal.”
Mr. Bush also mentioned his commitment to “faith-based” initiatives to combat poverty, citing the need to make sure that groups such as New York’s Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, which Mr. Bush mentioned by name, are not discriminated against when it comes to federal grants.
Mayor Koch, who was honored at the dinner with the Emma Lazarus Statue of Liberty Award, told the crowd, “George W. Bush loves us. He loves us. He likes us, he repects us, he doesn’t distinguish between us and any other group.”
– Staff Reporter of the Sun
SENATE VOTES FOR $3.5 BILLION IN VOUCHERS FOR KATRINA VICTIMS
More than 350,000 families made homeless by Hurricane Katrina would get emergency housing vouchers averaging $600 a month for up to six months under a measure approved yesterday by the Senate. Any displaced family regardless of income would be eligible for the program, expected to cost $3.5 billion over six months.
– Associated Press
CLINTON’S BID FOR KATRINA PROBE FAILS
Senate Republicans yesterday scuttled an attempt by Senator Clinton to establish an independent, bipartisan panel patterned after the 9/11 Commission to investigate what went wrong with federal, state, and local governments’ response to Hurricane Katrina.
The hearing marked Congress’s first step in investigating major gaps in the country’s readiness and response systems that Katrina exposed.
– Associated Press
FORMER PRESIDENT’S GLOBAL INITIATIVE CONFERENCE BEGINS
The first Clinton Global Initiative conference, organized by President Clinton to tackle issues like poverty, religious strife, governance and climate change, begins today in New York.The guest list of about 800 people includes almost 50 heads of state, as well as representatives from nongovernmental organizations and the business community, each of whom will pay an admission price of $15,000.
Attendees will make pledges of activity or donations for the year, and the initiative’s staff will keep track to see if the contracts are fulfilled. Those who don’t fulfill their pledges will not be allowed to return.
– Associated Press
POWELL HONORED WITH BENJAMIN FRANKLIN MEDAL
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce honored a former secretary of state, Colin Powell, with the Benjamin Franklin Medal last night in recognition of his coordination and collaboration with Britain.The medal is awarded alternately to citizens of America and Britain to individuals and organizations that advance Anglo-American understanding and promote the advancement of science, art, and enterprise.
– Special to the Sun
NORTHEAST
MASS. REJECTS AMENDMENT TO BAN GAY MARRIAGE
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Legislature yesterday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that sought to ban gay marriage but legalize civil unions, a year after the state performed the nation’s first government-sanctioned same-sex weddings.
It was the second time the Legislature had confronted the measure, which was intended to be put before voters on a statewide ballot in 2006. Under state law, lawmakers were required to approve it in two consecutive sessions before it could move forward.
– Associated Press