Congress restricts Bush on Iraq spending
Fri Sep 29, 11:30 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress on Friday moved to block the Bush administration from building permanent U.S. military bases in
Iraq or controlling the country's oil sector, as it approved $70 billion for funding the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
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The restrictions included in a record $447 billion military funding bill were a slap at the administration, and Republicans have stripped them out of legislation in the past.
Democrats and many Republicans say the Iraqi insurgency has been fueled by perceptions that the United States has ambitions for a permanent presence in the country. They have called on Bush to make a policy statement that the United States has no such plans.
President Bush has not said either way whether the United States wants permanent bases, but U.S. officials have predicted a lengthy U.S. military presence in Iraq.
The Senate unanimously passed the military spending bill, sending it to Bush for his signature. The House of Representatives passed it earlier in the week 394-22, as Congress rushed to head out to campaign for November 7 elections that will determine control of Congress.
Lawmakers were also slated to approve spending for $34.8 billion for homeland security. Spending bills unrelated to security, which generally are more difficult to get through Congress, will wait for lawmakers to return after the elections.
With this bill, Congress has approved about $507 billion for the wars, with the bulk of that spent in Iraq where costs are averaging $8 billion per month, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Lawmakers called the $70 billion a "bridge fund" to last about halfway through the next fiscal year, which starts on October 1. About $23 billion of that is to replace and refurbish equipment worn out in the harsh environments of the two conflicts.
The military spending bill provides $377.6 billion for the
Pentagon's core programs, $4.1 billion less than Bush wanted but $19 billion above current levels.
It funds a 2.2 percent military pay raise, and provide $557 million more for the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard than Bush sought. |
