HOUSE TEMPTS A CLINTON VETO

Voting 238 to 192, the House passed a crime bill tonight that could derail President Clinton's plan to hire more police nationwide. The president has said that he would veto such a bill. The sixth and final segment of the GOP's anti-crime package replaces crime prevention programs and funds tied to localities increasing their police force -- two key components of the 1994 anti-crime law -- with a flexible block grant. But the measure faces an uphill fight in the Senate. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said that the Senate would have to come up with a single unified piece of crime legislation, rather than six separate ones, a process that will take at least a month. White House officials, meanwhile, made it clear that they were relishing the thought of Clinton vetoing any measure perceived as diluting crime fighting efforts. "We would not be disappointed if that was one of the first vetoes we cast," White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta told the Associated Press.