31.   But Edwards retired last term and the new Republican majorities in both houses strongly support the measure.

32.   But he had allowed it to come to the Council floor as a matter of conscience, and now says he would probably support the measure today.

33.   But he said he is more likely to support the measure in January when Congress returns.

34.   But if it was, he added, he might support a measure like the Kennedy-Smith bill.

35.   But Nelsie Sweeney, who supported the measure, said no correlation exists between the hub proposal and privatization.

36.   But Levitt declined to say whether he supported the measure in its entirety, saying through a spokesman that he still had reservations about other parts of the bill.

37.   But she said the district needs private donors to support the measure.

38.   But support for the initiative did not follow strict ethnic lines with many Latino parents strongly supporting the measure in polls.

39.   But the amendment is a top priority for Republicans, who unanimously support the measure, and he is under heavy pressure from his party to vote against it.

40.   But the local branches of the NAACP and the Urban League supported the measure, along with several other prominent black leaders.