U.S. Senate Passes Defense Appropriations Budget
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The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill providing the Defense Department its largest budgetary increase in more than 20 years |
WASHINGTON,
Aug 3 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The U.S. Senate has
overwhelmingly passed a bill that would give the Defense Department
its largest budgetary increase in more than 20 years.
Late
Thursday, the upper chamber of the U.S. Congress
voted 95-3 to pass the bill that would give the Pentagon $355.4
billion to spend on personnel, equipment, security and training among
other uses in fiscal 2003, but ignored U.S. President George W.
Bush’s bid for a $10 billion war fund he would control.
Voting
against the bill were Sens. Russell Feingold, (D-WI); John McCain,
(R-AZ); and George Voinovich, (R-OH).
The
Senate-approved measure marks a $34.4 billion increase over the budget
for fiscal 2002 and is generally in line with the White House's
request. It funds the additional aircraft, weapons and costs of
deploying forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere that Bush sought for the
war, news agencies reported.
The vote, which came the day before the 100-member Senate was to head
off for a month-long vacation, must now be reconciled with the
appropriations passed earlier this year by the lower House. The House
and Senate still must work out differences in their two versions.
"The
defense of our nation is too important to be a matter of partisan
politics," said Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, a chief author of
the measure, reports news agencies.
The
budget plan would designate $6.9 billion for Bush's controversial
missile defense program and sets aside another more than $800 million
for either anti-terror activities or missile defense - a provision
Bush opposes.
"I
applaud the Senate for answering my call to quickly pass the Defense
Appropriations bill," Bush said in a statement.
"With
our nation at war, it is imperative that we address the important
priority of ensuring that our troops have the resources they
need."
But
the legislation holds off on providing Bush with a $10 billion
contingency fund in which he would be able to spend the money on his
own. Bush proposed the fund for the battle against terrorism.
Members
of both parties in Congress are reluctant to forfeit their input into
future defense spending, in which they may decide to provide the
money, but likely with
some strings attached.
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