House leader pledges to give back 9/11 funds (Hastert)

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House leader pledges to give back 9/11 funds

WASHINGTON -- A top House Republican has promised to give back to New York some $125 million in Sept. 11 aid that lawmakers had decided to take away just a week earlier.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert wrote to Rep. Vito Fossella, pledging to return the funding as part of a spending package to fund post-hurricane relief efforts along the Gulf Coast.

"As we agreed, the Congress will include this funding in the upcoming emergency appropriations bill to fund the recovery and rebuilding efforts for hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The bill we send to the president for signature will include the $125 million," Hastert wrote in the letter dated Monday and made public Tuesday.

The pledge by Hastert is the latest in a year-long tug-of-war over the money, originally meant to cover increased worker compensation costs stemming from the 2001 terrorist attacks.