WASHINGTON (AP) - Despite intense partisan divisions over the course of the Iraq war, the House on Tuesday easily approved $70 billion more for military operations there and in Afghanistan. Lawmakers also adopted a record $448 billion budget for the Pentagon. With Iraq alone costing about $8 billion a month, another infusion of money will be needed next spring.
The House passed the Pentagon appropriations bill by a 394-22 vote Tuesday night, and the Senate is due to cat before adjourning this weekend for the fall campaign.
Gee, not too many Dhimmicrats voted against it. Wonder if the election focused their minds? | The House-Senate compromise bill provides $378 billion for core Pentagon programs, about a 5 percent increase, though not quite as much as President Bush asked for. The $70 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan is a down payment on war costs the White House has estimated will hit $110 billion for the budget year beginning Oct. 1.
With final passage of the bill, Congress will have approved $507 billion for Iraq, Afghanistan and heightened security at overseas military bases since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The core bill contains $86 billion for personnel costs, enough to support 482,000 Army soldiers and 175,000 Marines. That would provide for a 2.2 percent pay increase for the military, as Bush requested in his February budget. The bill provides $120 billion for operations and maintenance costs, just less than the Pentagon request. And $81 billion goes for procurement of new weapons, with $76 billion dedicated to research and development costs. |