District of Columbia fiscal 1994 budget is approved by House.

WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives has narrowly approved the District of Columbia's $3.4 billion budget for fiscal 1994. which includes a federal payment of $630 million and $17 million of funds for Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly's anti-crime program.

The 213-to-211 House vote on Wednesday night sends the measure to the Senate, where action has not yet been scheduled.

The federal payment, money given the city to compensate it for the demands of hosting the federal government. is about $6 million more than the city received last year.

In a marked departure from previous battles over the city's budget, the House voted to allow the city to use its own tax money to fund abortions for poor women. The city has been forbidden by Congress from using its money for abortions since the mid-1980s.

A majority in the House also beat back attempts to remove the $17 million earmarked for the mayor's program to combat crime. Opponents sought to kill the funding in an effort to save the federal government money.

The House also voted to allow the city to reduce the number of fire-fighters on duty at any given time, a move city officials have said could save nearly $3.5 million annually.

The district is unique among U.S. municipalities because its budget must be approved by Congress. Although Congress granted the city limited home rule in the mid-1970s, it retained oversight authority.

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