June 2 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate approved $25 billion to finance military operations in Iraq until Congress passes a more comprehensive spending measure early next year.
The Senate voted 95-0 to include the money in a bill that now authorizes $447 billion for defense in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. The House passed a similar measure May 20.
The Senate approved the $25 billion contingent on the Pentagon complying with checks and notifications intended to meet criticism that the funding request represented a ``blank check'' allowing expenditures with little documentation.
The reserve fund is needed to ``avoid some of the real problems which we would have had otherwise in spending next year's money this year, borrowing huge amounts of money, disrupting normal activities in the Army and the other services,'' said Michigan Senator Carl Levin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
If the fund weren't approved, ``there would have been a very real chance that the Army and possibly the Marine Corps and Special Operations Command could be out of funds by the time the Congress would be ready to act next February,'' Levin said.
Defense spending measures move on two tracks: one bill to authorize the spending, another to approve it. The House and Senate appropriations committees that approve the spending started their process today.
`Much Larger'
The administration says the emergency fund won't be needed in fiscal 2004, which ends Sept. 30. It would be the first of two requests for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan that the Bush administration plans in fiscal 2005.
The next request, early in 2005, ``will surely be much larger than $25 billion,'' Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The fund most likely will pay for Army operations and maintenance expenses to include fuel for helicopters, tanks and other vehicles, personnel and equipment transportation costs, equipment maintenance and additional body armor and specially armored Humvee transports, the Pentagon said in documents presented to the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee.
The administration had requested authority to shift spending of the $25 billion between categories of expenses as needed after giving five days notice.
The Senate instead agreed to an amendment sponsored by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner of Virginia to allow spending of up to only $2.5 billion in any of six categories, such as Army operations and maintenance, contingent on a five-day notification.
The remaining funding could only be spent within the categories designated and not shifted between accounts, a Warner spokesman said.
``This provides the funds but in keeping with the proper congressional oversight,'' said Warner spokesman John Ullyot.
Bloomberg.com
The Senate voted 95-0 to include the money in a bill that now authorizes $447 billion for defense in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. The House passed a similar measure May 20.
The Senate approved the $25 billion contingent on the Pentagon complying with checks and notifications intended to meet criticism that the funding request represented a ``blank check'' allowing expenditures with little documentation.
The reserve fund is needed to ``avoid some of the real problems which we would have had otherwise in spending next year's money this year, borrowing huge amounts of money, disrupting normal activities in the Army and the other services,'' said Michigan Senator Carl Levin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
If the fund weren't approved, ``there would have been a very real chance that the Army and possibly the Marine Corps and Special Operations Command could be out of funds by the time the Congress would be ready to act next February,'' Levin said.
Defense spending measures move on two tracks: one bill to authorize the spending, another to approve it. The House and Senate appropriations committees that approve the spending started their process today.
`Much Larger'
The administration says the emergency fund won't be needed in fiscal 2004, which ends Sept. 30. It would be the first of two requests for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan that the Bush administration plans in fiscal 2005.
The next request, early in 2005, ``will surely be much larger than $25 billion,'' Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The fund most likely will pay for Army operations and maintenance expenses to include fuel for helicopters, tanks and other vehicles, personnel and equipment transportation costs, equipment maintenance and additional body armor and specially armored Humvee transports, the Pentagon said in documents presented to the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee.
The administration had requested authority to shift spending of the $25 billion between categories of expenses as needed after giving five days notice.
The Senate instead agreed to an amendment sponsored by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner of Virginia to allow spending of up to only $2.5 billion in any of six categories, such as Army operations and maintenance, contingent on a five-day notification.
The remaining funding could only be spent within the categories designated and not shifted between accounts, a Warner spokesman said.
``This provides the funds but in keeping with the proper congressional oversight,'' said Warner spokesman John Ullyot.
Bloomberg.com
