Congress sends Bush budget bill with Iraq money

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a $556 billion bill to fund most of the federal government through September 2008, ending a year-long budget fight with President George W. Bush by also including new money for the Iraq war.

The House gave final congressional approval to the bill that was cleared by the Senate late on Tuesday. It now goes to Bush for his expected approval.

Anti-war Democrats protested the new round of Iraq money, which they said gave Bush a "blank check" to run the war.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat, sounded resigned to at least another year of funding the war in Iraq, against his wishes. He said the only option to changing direction in Iraq was to "elect more progressive voices to the United States Senate" and to "elect a president with a different set of priorities."

U.S. presidential and congressional elections will be held in November 2008.

The legislation wraps together 11 of the 12 bills the U.S. Congress must handle every year to fund government programs ranging from health care for the poor and elderly to law enforcement, space exploration, food stamps for the poor, foreign aid and border security.

Already enacted into law was a $460 billion measure to fund the Pentagon's regular activities, not counting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Democrats in Congress fought with Bush all year, scoring some victories, in their push to spend more to improve domestic social programs such as early education for poor children, home heating aid for low-income families and expanded health care.