Senate okays Iraq, aid funding
2006-05-05 13:27
Washington - The US Senate approved funding on Thursday for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and hurricane-recovery efforts, ignoring President George W. Bush's threat to veto the $108.9bn bill as loaded with extra spending he did not seek.
By a vote of 78-20, the Senate approved an emergency bill
that would spend $14.4bn more than Bush requested. Senate
Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, backed Bush
by voting against the measure.
The House of Representatives passed a bill in line with
Bush's request and the two chambers will try to work out their
differences by the end of this month.
More aid for famine relief
Before completing the bill, the Senate cut $47m in
foreign aid this year to Egypt. Of that, $35m would be
reassigned for famine and disaster relief in Uganda, Kenya,
Ethiopia and possibly Somalia.
The Bush administration backed the change, said an aide to
Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who pushed the
amendment.
The remaining $12m would help Guatemala rebuild in
the aftermath of last year's Hurricane Stan.
Overall, the Senate bill contains $4.1bn more in aid
for several countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Jordan.
Extra $66bn for Iraq, Afghanistan
The emergency bill would provide a new injection of nearly
$66bn the Pentagon says it needs by early summer to help
replenish combat equipment and recruit soldiers for the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Another $28.9bn would be used for rebuilding
Louisiana, Mississippi and other southern states after last
summer's devastating Hurricane Katrina and other storms.
Veto
Bush has objected to some of the storm-relief projects the
Senate included, as well as about $4bn in farm aid.
"The president has made it very clear he would veto
legislation that goes above and beyond what he called for,"
White House spokesperson Scott McClellan said after the vote.
He predicted a veto, Bush's first, would be upheld and
cited a letter from 35 senators backing Bush's demand to put a
limit on the bill's cost.
But at least 14 of the Republican senators who signed that
letter also voted for the $108.9bn Senate-passed bill.
House Majority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican,
took a hard line. "The House will not take up an emergency
supplemental spending bill for (Hurricane) Katrina and the war
in Iraq that spends one dollar more than what the president
asked for. Period," he told reporters.
- Reuters