Washington in brief

Bill for child-safety locks on handguns clears the Senate

In a significant win for Democrats, the Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to require all handguns sold in the United States to have child-safety locks.

The lopsided vote, 70-27, buoyed Democrats' hopes for adding further gun-control measures to a controversial bill that would give gun manufacturers immunity from some civil lawsuits. The National Rifle Association has pushed for the bill and President Bush has said he wants it passed without any changes.

But Democrats intend to force more votes over the next week on additional gun-control amendments, aimed at inspiring their political base in this election year. Specifically, they'll press to extend a ban on assault weapons and to require background checks for buyers at gun shows.

This is the first significant Senate debate on gun rights since the time of the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, killed 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called on Republican leaders Thursday to give a federal commission reviewing the Sept. 11 attacks more time to complete its work, saying their opposition was undermining the panel's investigations.

The commission is scheduled to finish its work on May 27, but members are seeking at least a two-month extension, citing repeated delays because of disputes with the Bush administration over access to witnesses and documents.

Even though President Bush reversed course earlier this month and said he supported an extension to July 26, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., remains opposed. This week he told Bush, through chief of staff Andy Card, that he didn't intend to bring any legislation to the floor.

Legislation is pending in the House and Senate that would extend the commission's deadline until January 2005, a date that relatives of Sept. 11 victims have asked for to limit the influence of election-year politics. But opponents say the nation needs recommendations on preventing future attacks much earlier.

Postmaster General John Potter appealed to Congress on Thursday to provide anti-terrorism funds the Bush administration failed to include in its budget for next year.

Potter asked for $779-million to help the agency buy and install systems to detect biological agents and poisons, and new ventilation and filtration systems, in 282 mail handling centers across the country.

The Bush budget did not include any funds for those uses, although Potter pointed out that the mail has been used for both anthrax attacks and, more recently, to send the poison ricin. Two postal workers have died of anthrax.

Potter said his agency has developed the new detection and filtration systems and test installations are under way in Baltimore and Cleveland. The current systems are designed to test for anthrax, he said, but improvements are being made to test for other likely materials.

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