WASHINGTON — Congress voted its final approval Monday for$87.5 billion for U.S. military operations and aid in Iraq andAfghanistan, a day after Americans in Iraq endured their worstcasualties since March.
In an anticlimactic moment for which only a handful of senatorsappeared, the Senate approved the bill by voice and handed alegislative victory to President Bush, who had requested a similarpackage two months ago. The voice vote — in which Sen. RobertByrd, D-W.Va., was the only one to shout ''Nay'' — letlawmakers sidestep the roll call that usually accompanies majorlegislation.
That underscored the complicated political calculus presented bythe measure, which was dominated by popular funds for U.S. forcesbut also sparked questions about Bush's postwar Iraq policies andrecord budget deficits at home.
''As the president said time and time again, we will not walkaway from Iraq,'' said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman TedStevens, R-Alaska, a leading author of the bill. ''We will notleave the Iraqi people in chaos, and we will not create a vacuumfor terrorist groups to fill.''
In the latest blow to Iraq's U.S. occupiers, 19 Americans werekilled there on Sunday. That included 16 soldiers who died when amissile brought down a U.S. Army transport helicopter west ofBaghdad, a crash in which 20 other Americans were wounded.
''Our country is being tested,'' White House press secretaryScott McClellan said in a statement released in Crawford, Texas,where the president spent a long weekend. ''Those who seek to killcoalition forces and innocent Iraqis want America and its coalitionpartners to run so the terrorists can reclaim control.''
He said the money, coupled with assistance from internationaldonors, will help make Iraq more secure and help the transition toself-government for Iraqis. The money also will help Afghanistanbecome a peaceful, democratic and stable nation, he said.
The helicopter crash allowed critics of Bush's leadership of theIraq war to argue anew that he should have done more to wincommitments of troops and resources from other countries.
''Every day, when we see these bloody headlines of Americansoldiers being killed, we are reminded that had this been a globalcoalition, … what we're facing today could have been so muchdifferent,'' said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
Even so, Durbin and several others who criticized Bush duringMonday's debate said they would support the bill as the best way toprotect U.S. troops and expedite the day when Americans can leaveIraq.
One who said he opposed the bill was Byrd, top Democrat on theAppropriations panel. In some of the day's strongest words, hecalled the bill a ''monument to failure,'' citing the lack of helpfrom allies and persistent U.S. casualties.
The measure was the second massive package for Iraq andcombating terror that Bush has requested and Congress has producedin less than seven months.
In April, they enacted a $79 billion package that included $62.4billion for the war in Iraq, which had just begun, plus other moneyfor Afghanistan, tightened security at home and help forfinancially ailing U.S. airlines.
The House cleared the most recent bill Friday by 298-121. Mostof its money is for the federal budget year that runs through Sept.30, though some of it is for a longer term.
Largely following the outlines of an $87 billion package thatBush requested on Sept. 7, the bill includes $64.7 billion for U.S.military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Most of that — $51 billion — was for American troopsin Iraq, while another $10 billion was for U.S. forces inAfghanistan. The money includes everything from salaries owedreservists called to active duty to buying aircraft parts, missilesand thousands of extra sets of body armor for ground troops.
In the starkest departure from Bush's proposal, there is $18.6billion — $1.7 billion below the president's plan — forretooling Iraq's economy and government. This included funds forclinics, power and water supplies and training police officers andentrepreneurs.
Dropped, however, was money that critics said was wasteful or atleast not needed urgently. This included money Bush wanted for ZIPand telephone area codes; a children's hospital in Basra, which ispatrolled by British troops; sanitation trucks; and restoration ofdrained marshlands.
Though Bush got less than he wanted for Iraqi aid, the WhiteHouse fended off lawmakers of both parties who had forced aprovision through the Senate making half the aid to Iraq aloan.
House-Senate bargainers killed that language last week, leavingthe aid a grant that Baghdad will not have to repay.
The bill also has $1.2 billion for buttressing Afghanistan; $500million for helping victims of U.S. natural disasters, such asHurricane Isabel and California's wildfires; and $245 million forinternational peacekeeping efforts in Liberia.
Money also was included to expand Arabic-language broadcastsinto Iraq, secure U.S. diplomats in Iraq and Afghanistan, providerewards for the capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Husseinand al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and aid Pakistan and other U.S.allies.
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