WASHINGTON — A $106 billion bill to fund wars in Iraq and Afghanistan headed for a close vote in the House. Complicating the outcome is the inclusion of money for poor countries, aid to Pakistan, pandemic flu preparation and government rebates to people who trade in gas-guzzling cars.
The Pentagon has said that without the bill, scheduled for a today vote in the House, the Army could start running out of war funds as early as July. President Barack Obama has pushed for the package, arguing that it is crucial to his efforts to wind down operations in Iraq while boosting personnel and fighting power in Afghanistan.
But anti-war Democrats demanding a quicker end to operations in the area have been a hard sell, and House Republicans have mobilized in opposition to $5 billion needed to secure a $108 billion U.S. line of credit to the International Monetary Fund to help poor countries deal with the world recession. Obama committed to that amount last April at a G-20 meeting in London.
Fifty-one Democrats voted against the bill when the House first voted on it in May. “One of the problems is we have some very deep-seated philosophical views that pursuing Afghanistan and Iraq with additional funding is not appropriate.” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. “I think we have the votes,” he said, noting that saying he was confident “might overstate it.”
There are several other factors that could sway votes: There’s support for $7.7 billion included to combat the pandemic flu threat, and lawmakers with links to the auto industry favor the $1 billion for a “cash for clunkers” program providing up to $4,500 in vouchers for consumer who trade in old cars for more fuel-efficient models.
Fiscally conservative lawmakers could also resist the nearly $7 billion in “add-ons,” funds not sought by the Pentagon, that the House and Senate included in the compromise they reached last week. The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation said those additions include controversial programs that the Pentagon did not want, such as $2.17 billion for eight C-17 transport planes.
Passage of the bill, which provides funds through the end of this fiscal year on Sept. 30, would bring to nearly $1 trillion the amount spent on the wars and other security matters since the Sept. 11 attacks. More than 70 percent of that has gone to Iraq, the Congressional Research Service said in an analysis.
Congress has passed similar war supplementals — meaning the money is not part of the regular Pentagon budget and adds to the federal deficit — every year since 2001. The White House has said that this will be the last war supplemental and that future spending will go through the regular appropriations process.
The administration is seeking $130 billion for war funds in the fiscal year 2010 starting in October, down from about $143 billion this year and $183 billion in fiscal 2008, the CRS said.
Obama’s original request last October was for about $83 billion, including $75.5 billion for defense purposes. But as is customary, Congress used the must-pass bill as a vehicle for bills, such as the “cash for clunkers” measure and $534 million in bonuses for military personnel whose enlistments have been involuntarily extended.
The measure includes $10.4 billion in foreign aid, with $2.4 billion for Pakistan, $1.4 billion for economic development in Afghanistan and $700 million in international food aid.
House-Senate negotiators also reached compromises on several policy controversies: They denied the White House $80 million to close the detention center at Guantanamo but agreed that detainees could be transferred to the United States to face trial. The issue of imprisoning convicted terrorists in the United States was put off for another day.
President Obama also personally guaranteed that he would stop the release of photos showing U.S. troops abusing detainees.
The bill is H.R. 2346
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