Middle East News
Congress approves spending measure for Afghanistan
Jul 27, 2010, 23:31 GMT
Washington - The US Congress on Tuesday passed a 58.8- billion-dollar spending measure that includes 33 billion dollars for the war and troop buildup in Afghanistan.
The 308-114 vote in the House of Representatives sends the bill, passed by the Senate last week, to President Barack Obama's desk for his signature.
The bill includes 37.1 billion dollars to pay for military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, 2.9 billion dollars for earthquake relief in Haiti and other money for domestic programmes.
Delays in the legislation had raised concerns in the Pentagon that it could run low on money with the massive troop surge underway in Afghanistan. The Senate cut out billions of dollars sought by the House for domestic jobs and education programmes.
Obama had encountered opposition from some Democrats opposed to the war in Afghanistan who want a more definitive timetable for withdrawing troops. Obama in December announced plans to send thousands of more troops to Afghanistan.
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