Senate Passes Revised Defense Policy
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 Senate passed a revised defense policy bill yesterday that authorizes a 3.5% pay raise for troops while sidestepping a veto showdown with President Bush over whether the Iraqi government should compensate victims of state-sponsored abuse during the Saddam Hussein-era.
The 91-3 vote sends the $696 billion measure to Mr. Bush for his expected signature.
The president had rejected an earlier version of the bill because of a provision that would have guaranteed that victims of state-sponsored abuse can sue foreign governments in court and collect judgments by seizing its assets inside America. Mr. Bush said that would have exposed Iraq to high-dollar lawsuits at a time when it is struggling to rebuild its infrastructure.
