TOPICS
TOPICS
Congress passes war supplemental spending bill
The House and the Senate voted over the weekend to approve a $78.5 billion supplemental spending bill to cover the costs of the war in Iraq, amidst partisan rancor about pet congressional projects included in the bill and wrangling over the amount of discretion President Bush should have in spending the funds for war costs.
The House passed the bill Saturday morning, after negotiations between House and Senate conferees on the measure that lasted through the night. The House then embarked on its spring recess.
The Senate voted Friday night to agree in advance to the outcome the negotiators reached, essentially declaring the measure passed in advance.
The bill includes $62.4 billion to cover the costs of the Iraq operation and anti-terrorism operations elsewhere. Bush had sought to get $60 billion of that in a fund that he would be able to use at his discretion. Congress put only $15.7 billion in such a fund and required the president to detail how he spends the money five days in advance.
In a speech on the House floor, Majority Leader Tom Delay, R-Texas, said the bill contained too many special-interest provisions, criticizing senators for adding funds for "little parochial projects."
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