House Approves $82-Billion War Spending Bill

The House approved an $82-billion war spending bill Thursday that included a controversial provision designed to pressure states into denying driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

The bill was approved by a 368-58 vote. It is expected to clear the Senate next week.

The main purpose of the measure is to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it also provides money for building a new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, aiding victims of the tsunami in southern Asia and beefing up U.S. border security.

“Our military men and women in harm’s way have told us what they need for protection and support, and we are answering their call,” said Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio).

The driver’s license provision is the most contentious part of the bill. Applicants would have to prove they are in the United States legally to obtain a license that could be used for federal identification purposes, such as when boarding a plane or entering a federal courthouse.

House Republicans attached the provision to the war spending bill -- which was seen as must-pass legislation -- to boost its chances.

Supporters of the provision said it would close a loophole that a terrorist could exploit to clear security checkpoints. “We must be able to establish, as close to certainty as we can, that people are who they say they are,” said Rep. Thomas M. Davis (R-Va.).

But Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) called the provision an “underhanded attempt” to establish a national identity card. She complained that House Republican leaders “shoved this extreme measure down our throats” by attaching it to a war spending bill “knowing full well that many members ... will be forced to vote for it because they want to support our troops.”

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Lakewood) added: “This is the oldest trick in Washington -- attaching a bill that’s a bad idea to a bill that’s popular so people are forced to vote for it. “

During last year’s presidential campaign, a vote by the Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, against a war spending bill was highlighted by the Bush campaign. And, indeed, a number of lawmakers agonized over their vote Thursday.

“This is not an easy bill to support,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who voted for it.

Her California Democratic colleagues split, with 18 voting for the bill and 12 against it. Though Linda Sanchez opposed it, sister Loretta, of Anaheim, supported it. Two California Democrats did not vote, and one, Doris Matsui of Sacramento, voted “present.”

Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-North Hollywood), who voted for the bill, said, “There may be things I don’t like or would like to change in the supplemental appropriations bill, but all of that is less important than getting our troops equipped and training the Iraqis to take over their own defense.”

All California Republicans voted for the bill.

Like many others who voted against the bill, Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk) said her vote was related primarily to the immigration provisions.

“For the uncounted masses of undocumented workers in service jobs that few Americans want, this bill would do nothing but force them further into the shadows,” she said, contending that it would put thousands of unlicensed and uninsured motorists onto the streets.

But another dissenter, Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.), cited U.S. troops in explaining his vote. He said he could not support “ever-increasing funding for the war in Iraq without a clear understanding from [the Bush] administration about when and how it will bring our own troops home.”

“These men and women are in Iraq because of lies, deceit and half-truths,” he said. “And they deserve better than more of the same.”

Other immigration-related provisions of the bill would tighten asylum rules and authorize completion of a fence at the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego.

Under the measure, states would have three years to meet the federal driver’s license standards.

Currently, 10 states allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. They can obtain a license in two other states, Tennessee and Utah, but it is not valid as identification.

“Even a few states with lax standards can jeopardize the security of the entire country,” said Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).

The provision would allow states to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, but those licenses could not be used for federal identification.

Whether illegal immigrants should be allowed to obtain driver’s licenses has been hotly debated in California, where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year vetoed a bill that would have made the state’s estimated 2 million illegal immigrants eligible for a license. Similar legislation has been reintroduced in the California Legislature.

The overall spending bill drew criticism from a watchdog group, Taxpayers for Common Sense, which accused lawmakers of including “special interest” measures in the bill “that have nothing to do with fighting wars or responding to emergencies.”

The bill includes a provision sought by Maine and Mississippi to keep their shipbuilding facilities eligible for Navy contracts for building the next-generation destroyer.

Antonia Ferrier, an aide to Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), said that without the shipbuilding provision added to the emergency spending bill, thousands of jobs could be lost in her state. “I could care less if someone calls it pork,” she said. “We’re fighting for Maine.”

It also includes $4 million for the Fire Science Academy in Carlin, Nev. -- a project supported by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). But tens of millions of dollars for projects that had been included in the Senate bill were removed from the final version.

Flake, a leading critic of so-called pork in spending bills, said the bill was “not completely clean” but, compared with past emergency spending measures, “it’s relatively clean.”

“I think pork will still be king when it comes to the regular appropriations bills, unless the president puts his foot down,” he said.

The bill includes about $76 billion for military operations, $656 million for tsunami relief and $4.2 billion for foreign aid. About $635 million is provided for security along the border, including the hiring of 500 Border Patrol agents.

About $24 million would go toward repairing roads in Southern California forests damaged by rainstorms.