21.   The spending has the backing of Sen. Jesse Helms, the conservative from North Carolina who is the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

22.   Finance Minister Avraham Shohat warned that government spending will have to be trimmed to find the money.

23.   Finance Minister Theo Waigel commented that the figures showed that the German economy was recovering quickly and that public spending had to be controlled strictly for several years.

24.   Finance Minister Avraham Shohat warned government spending will have to be trimmed to find the money.

25.   Experts said they believed lower spending would not have a strong impact on GCC economies given the expansion in the private sector.