Bush Signs Bill on War Funds for Iraq, Afghanistan
President Bush signed legislation Wednesday that would provide more funding this year to the U.S. military for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the White House said.
The administration had been pushing Congress to approve the $82 billion spending bill.
The Pentagon contended it would run out of funding for some war accounts by the middle of this month without the legislation.
Of the total amount, about $76 billion would go to the Pentagon to buy armor for soldiers and combat vehicles, ammunition, missiles and other war materials. The legislation also increased death benefits for families of soldiers killed in combat.
Democrats unanimously supported the measure but had complained that Bush had failed to give Congress long-range estimates of the cost of the Iraq war.
The White House has argued that future war costs and troop strength will depend on unpredictable conditions in Iraq.
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