Emergency war-spending bill is passed

The Senate unanimously passed the $82 billion emergency &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/18/88/351/9566_war.html ' target=_blank>war-spending bill yesterday, sending it on to the president, though some senators complained they had no chance to object to immigration-security measures that were tacked on to the legislation.

President Bush is expected to sign the bill, which brings the total United States spending commitment to the wars in &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2003/01/05/41643.html ' target=_blank>Afghanistan and Iraq since September 11 to about $300 billion. The bill passed the House last week, tells the Washington Times.

According to Reuters, Congress had been under pressure from the Bush administration to promptly approve the spending bill. Without the money, the Pentagon said, it would run out of funding for some war accounts by the middle of this month. Of the $82 billion, $76 billion would be funneled to the Pentagon to help it buy armor for soldiers and combat vehicles, ammunition, missiles and other war materials. The money also would be used to increase death benefits for families of soldiers killed in combat.

The "emergency" spending bill also provides $907 million in relief stemming from December's Indian Ocean tsunami and distributes foreign aid to several countries.