By a vote of 84 to 16, the platform committee rejected an attempt to drop all abortion language.

Twice, the House leadership has significantly watered down the abortion language the President opposes to try and reach a compromise.

Today, the abortion language in the legislation is so limited that it represents little more than a symbolic concession to pro-life Republicans.

Clinton has also sought more liberal abortion language in a UN plan for slowing world population growth.

The 11th-hour controversy over the abortion language capped a long and chaotic day Friday.

And Ms. Boxer was trying to negotiate changes to the abortion language, she said, with little success.

The abortion language is essentially the same.

President Clinton had vowed to veto any bill containing the abortion language, thus killing the whole package.

Proponents of the bankruptcy changes said they hoped they could finally move the measure without the abortion language, with the Senate under Republican control.

But to accommodate social conservatives who objected to that position, he signed a pledge in May promising to fight for the existing abortion language.