$81 Billion More for Iraq - House Passes Spending Bill

The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved President George W. Bush's request for 81.4 billion dollars to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, by a vote of 388 to 43. The funds come on top of some 200 billion dollars already appropriated by US lawmakers for military efforts in the two countries, and comes just before the second anniversary of the US-led military invasion of Iraq. Most of the money in the bill, 76.8 billion dollars, would go to the US Defense Department for war and reconstruction operations. The bill is somewhat pared down from the original funding request submitted by the White House earlier this year, after representatives stripped nearly 600 million dollars from the legislation that the administration requested to build the US embassy in Iraq. The bill includes 100 million dollars for disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. Another add-on provides some 650 million dollaqrs for tsunami disaster relief, and establishes a clear US policy to protect refugees from physical abuse and sexual exploitation. The US Senate is expected to take up its version of the legislation next month. [more]