The US congress on Friday approved the defense bill for the 2007
fiscal year after it had been passed by the Senate unanimously.
US President George W. Bush is expected to sign it into law this
week.
The bill, a compromise between the House of the Representatives
and the Senate, authorized the US military to spend 448 billion US
dollars in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.
The bill provides US$378 billion for core military programs, a
5-percent increase on a year-on-year basis.
The core spending includes US$86 billion for personnel costs,
US$81 billion for the procurement of new weapons, US$120 billion
for operations and maintenance, US$76 billion for research and
development, and other components.
The remaining US$70 billion are earmarked for Iraq and
Afghanistan, an amount which is US$40 billion less than the White
House had asked for.
Nevertheless, Congress has so far approved US$507 billion for
the war efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan and other overseas areas since
the 9/11 terror attacks.
The war in Iraq has so far cost US$379 billion, and operations
in Afghanistan have consumed US$97 billion.
(Xinhua News Agency September 30, 2006)
