Black farmers: The National Black Farmers Association claimed a victory Thursday night with the release of farm-bill details.

Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-3rd, told the group the bill includes a provision to pay $100 million to black farmers who were blocked from joining a 1999 class-action discrimination suit against the government.

"Seventy-thousand farmers are waiting for relief. This is do or die for black farmers," said John Boyd, founder of the group based in Baskerville, Va.

The bill also would allow additional payments as needed for farmers who allege government discrimination on farm loans.

Congress is expected to vote on the bill next week. President Bush has threatened a veto, saying the $300 billion agriculture package is too expensive.

Housing help: With President Bush threatening to veto the Democrats' plan to help homeowners amid a national foreclosure crisis, Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, called on Congress to consider alternatives.

Cantor, a member of the House Republican leadership, supports a bill to give homebuyers a one-time tax credit of 10 percent of the home's price. The credit would be capped at $10,000. He said the real estate market needs stability.

"The way to do this is to trust the market, to put in place incentives in the tax system so that we can see increased demand among homebuyers," he said.

'Hallowed Ground': President Bush on Thursday signed into law a bill pushed by Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-10th, to create the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, conserving key historic places along the U.S. 15 corridor in Virginia.

The bill authorizes Congress to spend up to $1 million a year to help Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia work together to improve parks, tourism and educational opportunities tied to the trail of historic sites.

The 175-mile corridor from Monticello in Virginia to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania encompasses eight presidential homes or sites, 15 National Historic Landmarks, 47 historic districts and the largest collection of Civil War battlefields in America.

Military pay: Rep. Thelma Drake, R-2nd, introduced a bill Wednesday to equalize pay between military service members and civilians with similar skill sets.

Congress is considering a bill to bring the military pay scale in line with the private sector for one year. Drake's bill aims to close the pay gap for five years. "Our military families should not have to worry about their financial security from year to year," she said. -- Neil H. Simon Media General News Service