Bush offers aid to states in drought

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is announcing a relief package worth about $750 million for states hit by the West's worst drought in a century, two officials said.\nAgriculture Secretary Ann Veneman planned to announce details of the package at an afternoon conference. Lawmakers, including Rep. John Thune, R-S.D., were to participate.\nOn Sept. 10, senators voted to add $6 billion to it to help farmers and ranchers battered by the drought, despite objections from Bush that the aid would increase federal red ink. Bush said that to prevent reborn federal deficits from getting worse, aid for farmers and ranchers with parched lands should come from the $180 billion, six-year farm bill enacted in May or from other budget savings.\nThe roughly $750 million would come from previously authorized Agriculture Department money, and not the farm bill, the two administration officials said. It would target some 30 states hit by the drought.\nThe money could help Republican candidates in Western states during an election year in which control of both the House and Senate are at stake.\nOne of the hottest races in the nation is in South Dakota, where Thune is seeking to oust the state's junior Democratic senator, Tim Johnson, this November.\nBush stood with Thune last month in South Dakota and promised relief for the drought-stricken state. "We want to help the hurting people," Bush said. But he refused to support emergency drought spending that would boost the deficit, promising instead to pull the money from the farm bill.\nThat undercut Thune, who has made an issue of his ties to Bush and a supposed ability to turn the connection into benefits for South Dakota.