Senate passes budget bill with Iraq money

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Tuesday approved sweeping legislation to keep the government operating through September 2008 and handed President George W. Bush a victory by including additional Iraq war funds without conditions for ending the combat.

By a vote of 76-17, the Senate approved the $556 billion fiscal 2008 spending bill.

Marking another defeat for Democrats trying to end nearly five years of combat in Iraq, the Senate included $70 billion in new money for the war there and in Afghanistan. Attempts to attach Iraq troop withdrawal plans failed.

The House of Representatives could vote as early as Wednesday to approve the Iraq war funds. When the House passed its version of the budget bill on Monday, it specifically prohibited any new money for Iraq.

But with the Democratic-controlled Congress hurrying to recess for three weeks and Republican Bush promising to veto any budget bill that does not have money for the Iraq war, the House is expected to relent.

"We need to pass this spending bill, with troop funds, without any strings and without any further delay," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said.

The Senate's assistant Democratic leader, Dick Durbin of Illinois, who opposes unconditional Iraq funding, said the latest batch of money could keep the wars running through May or June.

If Congress does provide the $70 billion, it would boost the overall cost of the two wars to about $670 billion so far.