Bush gets defense spending bill

WASHINGTON – With the Pentagon running short of cash, Congress on Thursday sent to President Bush a $416 billion defense spending bill that would provide $25 billion for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan next year or even in the final months of this year.

And the $25 billion is not expected to come close to meeting next year’s demand.

The measure also includes $500 million to help fight Western wildfires.

The bill breezed through both chambers by votes of 96-0 in the Senate and 410-12 in the House, shortly before Congress began its six-week summer recess.

The $25 billion requested by Bush is expected to cover the cost of military operations for only a few months of the 2005 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

And it may be needed even sooner. Congress’ watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, reported Wednesday that the Pentagon faced an estimated $12.3 billion shortfall to pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on terrorism for the remainder of this fiscal year.

And for next year, additional funds beyond the $25 billion – as much as $50 billion more, some say – are expected to be needed.

The $25 billion would bring the total provided for military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq to more than $175 billion, according to the White House budget office.

The bill includes money for more body armor and fortified Humvees for the troops, plus a 3.5 percent average pay raise for the military.

Also included are $685 million for the operations of and security for the new U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq; $500 million to train and equip the New Iraqi Army and the Afghan National Army, and $100 million to help “ensure that newly discovered weapons caches are secured and disposed of before they become available to enemy combatants.”

In an acknowledgment of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, the bill includes language reaffirming that torture of detainees is “illegal and does not reflect the policies of the United States government or the values of the people of the United States.”

Beyond Iraq and Afghanistan, the bill also sets aside billions of dollars for weapons systems, including $10 billion for a Bush initiative to deploy a missile defense system in Alaska and California.

The bill also includes $95 million for humanitarian relief for victims of the conflict in the Sudan and $50 million to help pay for security at the Democratic and Republican conventions.