Congress Sends Obama $106 Billion War-spending Bill that Includes Assistance to Lebanon
The U.S. Congress on Thursday sent President Barack Obama a massive spending bill that includes $69 million assistance for Lebanon.
The $106 billion emergency war bill aims at ensuring that the U.S. military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan won”t run out of money in the coming months.
It also branches off to provide money for programs ranging from pandemic flu preparedness to a "cash for clunkers" initiative to encourage drivers to switch to more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The Senate passed the measure on a one-sided 91-5 vote despite complaints from several senators about the add-ons that pushed the total more than $20 billion above the funding request Obama made two months ago. The House approved the bill on Wednesday by a much closer 226-202 vote.
The bill includes about $80 billion to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through this fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. The Pentagon has predicted that the U.S. army could begin running out of money for personnel and operations as early as July without the infusion of more money.
It also provides $4.5 billion, $1.9 billion above what the president requested, for lightweight mine-resistant vehicles, called MRAPs, and $2.7 billion for eight C-17 and seven C-130 cargo planes that the Pentagon did not ask for.
On the nonmilitary front, the measure includes $660 million in economic, humanitarian and security assistance for the West Bank and Gaza; $300 million for Jordan, $310 million for Egypt, and $69 million for Lebanon.
The bill also includes $7.7 billion for pandemic flu preparedness; and $721 million to pay off what the U.S. owes for U.N. peacekeeping operations.