Senate nears passage of spending bill

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate on Wednesday neared
completion of an emergency spending bill to fund the war in
Iraq and to continue hurricane recovery efforts, ignoring White
House objections that it was loaded with unnecessary projects.

The Senate was expected to finish work by Thursday on the
bill, which would end up costing about $109 billion, around $17
billion more than the total approved in March by the House of
Representatives.

As the Senate tried to wrap up a nearly two-week debate on
the bill, President George W. Bush threatened to veto it.
“Congress needs to hear me loud and clear. If they spend more
than the $92.2 (billion) plus pandemic flu emergency funds, I
will veto the bill,” Bush said.

As Bush issuing the threat, senators were adding, not
subtracting funds, including $60 million for United Nations
efforts in the Darfur region of Sudan. The money is aimed at
stemming violence the United States has labeled genocide.

Senators also added $289 million for avian flu-related
funds, beyond the $2.3 billion Bush requested.

Once the bill passes, the House and Senate will try for a
compromise to head off a Bush veto.

Like the House-passed measure, the Senate’s legislation
would provide around $67 billion to finance the U.S. wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon would get a new round of funds to replace
aircraft and other equipment worn out in the wars. Nearly $500
million would be spent to recruit and retain more soldiers.

With this bill, U.S. spending on the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan would be nearly $400 billion, with more than
three-quarters being spent in Iraq.

War costs and rebuilding southern states after Hurricane
Katrina have contributed to rampant deficit spending. This bill
would add to the $3 trillion debt the federal government has
racked up over the past five years.

Senators also went on record opposing permanent U.S.
military bases in Iraq or control of Iraq’s oil resources.

The Senate bill would provide about $3.5 billion more in
foreign aid for Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan and other countries.

Sen. Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat, succeeded in
targeting $250,000 for a special U.S. envoy for Sudan, who he
said “could be instrumental in our efforts to bring an end to
the genocide unfolding in Darfur.”

Democrats criticized Republicans for shifting $1.9 billion
from defense programs to strengthen border security.

But most of the Senate debate was over the addition of
expensive election-year projects, many backed by leading
Republicans.

Some fiscal conservatives argued these had no place in an
emergency spending bill and tried bring the spending more in
line with Bush’s request. But the Senate ended up adding funds
for projects like levee improvements in Louisiana and veterans’
medical services.

Conservatives succeeded only in striking $15 million in
funds for the seafood industry from the bill.

Efforts to stop a $700-million project to relocate a CSX
railroad in Mississippi failed, as did an amendment to prevent
at least $140 million in aid for Northrop Grumman’s Gulf Coast
shipbuilding operations.

Farmers, including many not hurt by last summer’s
hurricanes, would get nearly $4 billion in disaster aid, after
the Senate rejected an attempt to trim some of those funds.

The Senate’s hurricane rebuilding money, which outpaces the
House’s $19 billion by at least $8 billion, would help pay for
community development grants, education expenses for displaced
students and flood control projects.

Later this year, another emergency spending bill for war
and U.S. Gulf Coast rebuilding could be needed.