U.S. Senate approves more budget for Iraq, Afghanistan wars

From http://mathaba.net/rss/?x=574650

The bill, voted by 90 to 3, covers the budget year 2008 ending on Sept. 30 and authorizes 696 billion U.S. dollars in military spending, including 189 billion dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate approved a defense bill on Friday to authorize more budget for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan without requiring a timetable of troop withdrawal from Iraq.

The bill, voted by 90 to 3, covers the budget year 2008 ending on Sept. 30 and authorizes 696 billion U.S. dollars in military spending, including 189 billion dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The bill offers more help to troops returning from combat zones, including 3.5 percent pay rise for servicemen and post-war mental health evaluations.

It increases oversight on contractors and establishes auditing system to monitor reconstruction contracts in Afghanistan. It alsosets conditions on pricey weapons programs, authorizing the White House to spend 10 billion dollars for ballistic missile defense, about 331 million dollars less than requested.

"Caring for our troops and their families must always be our top priority," said Democratic Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

The bill, passed in the House of Representatives this week, is expected to be signed by President George W. Bush into law.

Slightly outnumbering Republicans, Senate Democrats have failed several times since this year in pushing for defense bill requiring timetable of troop withdrawal from Iraq.

However, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, said after the Friday vote "the effort (to change course in Iraq) is not over."

The Senate is set to vote on a 70-billion-dollar war spending bill next week. While Democrats want attach the money to troop withdrawals, Republicans struggle for a "clean" bill without strings.

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