US Congress Approves 28.9-billion-dollar Anti-terror Bill

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, July 25, 2002

US Congress Approves 28.9-billion-dollar Anti-terror Bill

The US Congress granted its final approval on Wednesday to a 28.9-billion-dollar anti-terror measure after four months of battle with the White House over its proper size.

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The US Congress granted its final approval on Wednesday to a 28.9-billion-dollar anti-terror measure after four months of battle with the White House over its proper size.

The Senate endorsed the bill by a vote of 92 to 7 one day afterit was approved by the House of Representatives, sending it to President George W. Bush for signing into law.

About half of the bill's money, 14.5 billion dollars, will be used for stepping up anti-terrorism efforts by the Pentagon and intelligence agencies. Of the remainder, 6.7 billion dollars will go to the federal aviation safety program, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other domestic security programs while 5.5billion dollars is for rebuilding New York.

The money is for the rest of the current federal budget year that ends on September 30. The congress provided 40 billion dollars for anti-terror efforts in the days just after the September 11 attacks.

In March, Bush requested to limit the bill's cost to within 27.1 billion dollars, thus triggering off a battle between the White House and the congress.

Democrats used Bush's demand for less expenditure to question the president's seriousness about beefing up homeland security. White House budget chief Mitchell Daniels has angered lawmakers from both parties for his insistence that his bottom line should not be surpassed.

But with the federal fiscal year nearing its end, party leaderswere unwilling to wage a veto fight against Bush. In order to get it passed, lawmakers had to make a compromise deal by adding a fewitems for projects proposed by members of the House of Representatives for their constituencies other than defense and intelligence.

"This is a victory for the president and for taxpayers," said White House budget office spokesman Trent Duffy. "Congress met thepresident's demands to do what's necessary without going overboard."

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