Funding for water, housing programs overwhelmingly approved by House.

WASHINGTON -- The House overwhelmingly approved legislation late Wednesday that would provide funding for housing and water infrastructure programs for fiscal 1995.

The vote was 344 to 84.

The appropriations bill, which designates spending levels for the federal fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, follows the levels recommended by the House Appropriations Committee last week.

The bill would hold spending on the Housing and Urban Development Department's HOME program to the current-year level of $1.275 billion, or $175 million above the president's budget request.

The Community Development Block Grant program would receive an increase of $200 million, to $4.6 billion, for fiscal 1995.

Congress is working on a separate bill to reauthorize spending for dozens of federal housing programs, including the HOME and block grant programs.

The Environmental Protection Agency's water infrastructure initiatives would receive $2.73 billion, or $82 million more than the initial budget request. The fiscal 1995 level would be $25 million more than the current year.

Of the $2.73 billion, $700 million would go toward a state revolving loan fund being created to help finance construction of drinking water treatment facilities. State revolving loan funds for wastewater treatment plants would receive $1.28 billion for fiscal 1995.

Congress is working on separate bills to reauthorize the wastewater treatment and safe drinking water programs.

One bill would reauthorize the six-year-old revolving fund program that many states use to help stretch their federal dollars by leveraging bonds to help build wastewater treatment facilities.

The other would renew the safe drinking water act and establish the revolving fund program.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to act on the spending bill after Congress recesses next week for Independence Day.

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