US House passes Iraq war funds bill backed by Bush

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-20  |     ONLINE EDITION

THE US House of Representatives yesterday approved enough new money to wage wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for another year, while abandoning attempts to set deadlines opposed by President George W. Bush for withdrawing American combat troops.

By a vote of 268-155, the House approved US$165.4 billion for the two wars, with most of the money going to Iraq. But lawmakers were expected to reduce that funding level to US$161.8 billion in a subsequent vote in order to make room for some other spending initiatives.

The measure, which the Bush administration backs, is expected to be debated by the Senate within the next several days. It was not yet clear whether the Senate would amend the bill.

Some Democrats expressed frustration with an inability to force troop withdrawals from Iraq, despite their party's majority status in the House.

"Let us hope this is the last time another dollar will be spent without constraint, without conditions," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat who opposes the Iraq war.

The Pentagon has said that without a new infusion of war money, personnel layoffs would begin next month and it would not be able to pay active duty soldiers.

According to the House Appropriations Committee, the new money will cover war costs through mid-2009, well beyond when a new US president takes office on Jan. 20.

With this new batch of money, Congress will have appropriated more than US$800 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001. That money is piled onto a huge federal debt that has grown since Bush took office in 2001, giving fiscal conservatives in Congress heartburn.

Last month, the House passed a different version of the war-funding bill, which would have called for immediately starting troop withdrawals from Iraq and with the goal of completing the removal of combat soldiers by the end of 2009.

There are nearly 150,000 US troops fighting in Iraq.