WASHINGTON, 1 November 2003 — Saying the United States cannot turn back on its commitments, the House gave President Bush the $87.5 billion he sought to make Iraq a secure and free country.
The Senate could vote as early as yesterday, sending the package to the president.
“The funding package is an essential part of the Iraq exit strategy,” said Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., the House’s No. 3 Republican. “The sooner we bring prosperity back to the region, the sooner we bring our sons and daughters home safe.”
The 298-121 House vote late Thursday night was a victory for Bush, but came with pointed questions from Democrats about the wisdom of an Iraq policy that is costing American lives and dollars with limited help from the international community.
“Because President Bush lacked an adequate plan for postwar Iraq, American soldiers are taking virtually all of the risks and American taxpayers are paying virtually all of the bills,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who voted against the measure.
The package, for expenses during the current budget year, includes nearly $65 billion for US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and $18.6 billion to rebuild Iraq and improve the country’s security and law enforcement.
The package closely mirrored the amounts sought by the president, and met his demand that all the money for rebuilding Iraq be in the form of grants rather than loans.
House-Senate negotiators, in working out the final details of the package, eliminated a Senate provision that would have required that half the money for Iraqi reconstruction and security forces be given as loans instead of grants.
The House also supported the concept of loans in a nonbinding vote, with many lawmakers arguing that Iraq, possessing the world’s second largest oil reserves, would some day be able to repay any debts.
The administration said the president would veto the bill if it contained loans, saying loans would be a deterrent to efforts to persuade other nations to forgive Iraq’s debts accumulated during Saddam Hussein’s regime.
That convinced some who originally pressed for loans, including Rep. Zack Wamp, R-Tenn. “We were all hit with sticker shock: $87 billion is a huge number,” he said. “I’m going to grit my teeth and vote yes tonight.”
The Iraq reconstruction money includes $3.2 billion for security and law enforcement, $5.6 billion for the electric sector, $1.9 billion for rebuilding the oil industry and $4.3 billion for water and sanitation.
