House Approves $82 Billion for Iraq, Afghanistan
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

WASHINGTON – The House easily approved another $82 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan yesterday, a measure that includes sweeping immigration reforms and boosts the total spent on fighting terrorism since 2001 to beyond $300 billion.
The vote was 368-58, with one lawmaker abstaining. The Senate is to vote on the measure next week when it returns from a week-long recess, and approval is expected.
The bulk of the money – $75.9 billion – is slated for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, while $4.2 billion goes to foreign aid and other international relations programs worldwide.
The bill also includes uniform requirements for driver’s licenses across states, toughens asylum laws, authorizes the completion of a fence across the California-Mexico border, and provides money to hire more border security agents.
Both the Republican-controlled House and Senate had promised to “scrub” President Bush’s request to cut spending for items that did not represent emergency spending needs. But the bill carries the same overall price tag that Mr. Bush proposed in February, and he gets most of what he sought.
However, the bill also provides roughly $1 billion more than the president had requested for defense and about $1.5 billion less than he wanted for international relations programs, reflecting a desire by lawmakers to give the Pentagon what it needs while holding the line on State Department spending.
“We did our very best to keep the package clean, and by and large we were successful at that,” said Rep. Jerry Lewis, a Republican of California, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican of Oklahoma, said the bill provides important money for troops overseas. “We owe them our full support in the battles they wage in the cause of liberty,” he said.
Democrats roundly criticized the Republican leadership for including the immigration reforms in a bill meant to cover the cost of war. They also assailed the administration’s Iraq policies and railed against what they called a lack of oversight by Congress of money already given to the Republican administration for the two wars and reconstruction.
“The president’s rationale for the invasion was discredited long ago. Iraq is still not safe,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat of California, said. “Providing this money alone is not enough. A way out must be provided as well.”
Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said the bill fails to include checks and balances of American funds flowing into Iraq, despite reports of financial mismanagement of money that Congress already has approved. “We have virtually been begging on bended knee to get this Congress to establish a committee to investigate this problem,” he said.