US agrees to more funds for Iraq war
21 June, 2005
The US House of Representatives has voted to advance the Pentagon another $US45 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as it passed a $US409 billion Defence spending bill.
The House approved the emergency "bridge fund", which would bring costs of the US military operations to more than $US300 billion, as President George W Bush was forced to step up his defence of the Iraq war in the face of sliding public support.
Republican Bill Young, the Florida Republican who steered the bill through the House, said it would take care of "the troops who serve our nation and provide them with the equipment and technology necessary to accomplish their mission".
House Republicans rebuffed an effort by Democrats to require Mr Bush to submit a report to Congress on criteria that he will use to judge when US troops can be withdrawn from Iraq.
Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi of California called the war "a grotesque mistake" and said the Republican-led Congress has failed to oversee the administration's conduct of it.
That sparked a rebuke from House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, who said, "Leader Pelosi and the Democratic leadership should support our troops instead of spreading inflammatory statements".
The House, by voice vote, accepted an amendment by Republican Jay Inslee, a Washington Democrat, to lift a $500 million cap on the amount of money available to train and equip Iraqi security forces.
Republicans said the bridge fund was needed to carry the Pentagon from the October 1 start of the next fiscal year through March 2006 when it will need another emergency spending bill.
Courtesy: ABC News
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