Senate OKs $168 billion for war operations

[unhappycamper]

Senate OKs $168 billion for war operations
By John T. Bennett - Staff writer
Posted : Friday May 23, 2008 5:51:28 EDT

The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a supplemental war funding bill that would provide $168 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, extend veterans benefits and provide billions for a host of domestic projects, while also killing a provision that called for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.

When coupled, the price tag of war and domestic funding portions of the bill top $200 billion, setting up a showdown with President Bush who has said he will veto any supplemental that features enough domestic spending to drive the overall cost of the measure above his $180 billion request.

Republicans began breaking with the president on inserting domestic spending into the measure last Thursday during a Senate Appropriations Committee mark up of the panel’s version of the bill, which proposes dollars for energy assistance for low-income households, a 13-week extension of unemployment insurance, prisons, more dollars for the Food and Drug Administration and other domestic items. That trend continued as many Republicans helped Democrats approve the domestic funding portion of the bill, 75-22.

Democrats took to the Senate floor this week to defend their leaders’ decision to include the nonwar spending, saying those funds pay for emergencies in affected regions of the U.S. The Democrats also called using the supplemental to enhance veterans benefits “a cost of war.”

But some Republicans objected, charging a war spending bill was the wrong legislative vehicle for pushing through spending for important domestic projects and a major overhaul of the GI Bill.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/dn_supplemental_052208/



uhc comment: Another year of occupations. :wtf:

[acmavm]

1. And? The surprise is? Did anyone NOT think they'd vote to give bush**

& Co. the money? Really?