WASHINGTON — The House recently voted to extend a "debt-for-nature" law that lets developing countries avoid some obligations to the United States by protecting rain forests. Supporters easily passed the bill on a voice vote after citing the loss of 30 million acres of tropical forests each year in Third World countries that tap their natural resources to pay off crushing foreign debt.

The bill to reauthorize the 1998 Tropical Forest Conservation Act goes to the Senate next. It envisions providing up to $225 million over three years. Supporters in both parties emphasized that the forests absorb heat-trapping carbon-dioxide pollution to help curb global warming, provide habitat for countless rare and exotic species, and protect an important breeding ground for about 70 percent of all new cancer drugs.

"The United States has a significant national interest in protecting these forests around the world," said Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, chief sponsor of the bill that created the program in 1998.