Senate Clears Final $416 Billion Defense Bill

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday gave final approval to a $416.2 billion defense spending bill that includes $25 billion for operations in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites), with the House of Representatives expected to follow shortly.



Senators unanimously approved the huge bill to finance the Pentagon (news - web sites) 96-0, their last major act before breaking for a six-week recess to campaign for Nov. 2 congressional and presidential elections.


Also scrambling to complete business before the recess, the House was slated to pass the measure later on Thursday to send it to President Bush (news - web sites).


The Pentagon can tap the $25 billion emergency funds for Iraq and Afghanistan -- provided as a down payment until the administration seeks a bigger emergency spending bill next year -- once Bush signs the bill.

snip~
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=1278&e=1&u=/nm/20040723/ts_nm/arms_congress_dc

[jpgray]

1. Blech. I voted Kucinich because that's a boil we need to lance

Bloated defense spending is a serious problem. Unfortunately US troops in Iraq can be used as virtual hostages to ram these spending bills through--no politician wants to 'deny the troops the supplies they need' even if $300 billion of the money has zero to do with that. :(

[bvar22]

2. $1,139,726,027.00 per DAY!!!!

ALL spent to feed GREAT AMERICAN DEATH MACHINE!every day! Weekends and holidays included.


How much do we spend to feed the hungry?
How much do we spend to shelter the homeless?
How much do we spend to heal the sick?
How much do we spend to clothe the naked?

Christian Nation?

This is more money spent on defense(?) than the next 7 nations COMBINED !

The people who voted for this insanity do not represent me!

[maddezmom]

3. how much to we spend to educate our children?

can't afford headstart...but can afford to incarcerate.

Watched JK tonight on a clip, he's right on. Can't pay for our police and homeland security, but are paying for fire houses in Iraq. Something is wrong with the picture.

[struggle4progress]

7. We just borrowed over $1400 for every single person in the United States.

It's over $3.75 for every man, woman, and child, every day of the year.

[Sandpiper]

4. That equals

$1416.54 per citizen in this country.

[donkeyotay]

5. defense spending, $416 Billion for our defense...

Even as they haul this booty in they can't stop telling us how we're going to - for sure - get hit with another terrorist attack. Is this an absolute failure of policy or what? $416 billion - which isn't even the half of it - and they keep telling us that we're not safe! Hello! It's supposed to be for our defense! It seems like an adequate amount. What've y'all been doing... smoking it? Stuffing it down your Cayman islands?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

6. This fits hand in glove with this story:

Air Force Spends $2.6 Billion on Planes (they can't fly)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x705211