But Republicans said the flag was the binding symbol of the nation and must be protected by law.
"As tombstones are not for toppling, nor churches for vandalizing, flags are not for burning," said committee Chairman Henry J. Hyde of Illinois.
The amendment is scheduled to reach the House floor in late June, becoming the third attempt by the Republican majority in this Congress to amend the Constitution. A balanced-budget amendment passed the House but fell one vote short in the Senate, while an amendment limiting the terms of members of Congress failed in the House.
FOREIGN AID. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a two-year, $18 billion "foreign aid reduction" bill yesterday after watering down the initial version drafted by Chairman Jesse Helms (R., N.C.).
The committee voted 10-8 along party lines to send the bill to the full Senate, with senior Democrat Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island complaining it
went too far in cutting aid.
The committee also approved an amendment barring aid to countries restricting delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid.
The provision, which also is in a bill being debated by the House, would affect U.S. aid to Turkey, accused of restricting delivery of assistance to Armenian refugees.
Helms, long a critic of foreign aid, found himself on the losing side of a series of amendments that garnered bipartisan support on the committee.
The panel approved without debate compromise language in provisions imposing stiff economic sanctions against Colombia if it fails to live up to pledges to fight drug trafficking. Under the compromise, the sanctions would be left to the president rather than going into effect automatically.
His committee colleagues overruled Helms on funding for a number of international organizations, including the World Bank, the United Nations Population Fund, and the Asian Development Bank.
