TREASURY'S BAKER ASKS FAST ACTION ON DEBT BILL
Treasury Secretary James Baker is
urging Congress to pass legislation promptly to raise the
ceiling on U.S. debt the United States can borrow, Senate
majority leader Robert Byrd said.
    Byrd told reporters Baker visited him late Friday to urge
Congress not to add time-delaying amendments to the debt
ceiling bill that Congress must pass before May 15. Byrd, a
Democrat, said he agrees but said others may want amendments.
    The current ceiling of 2.3 trillion (2,300 billion) dlrs
drops on May 15 to 2.1 trillion dlrs, a level considered too
low for U.S. borrowing.
 Reuter
