Bush signs $630 billion-plus spending bill

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
President George W. Bush signed a sprawling, stopgap spending bill Tuesday to keep the government running for the next 12 months. The $630 billion-plus spending bill wraps together a record Pentagon budget with aid for automakers and natural disaster victims, and increased health care money for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure also lifts a quarter-century ban on oil drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, a victory for Bush and fellow Republicans. Bush said he was disappointed with how Congress handled the lumped-together spending bill. "There is much work to be done, and the Congress should not adjourn for the year without finishing important business on spending, taxes and free trade agreements," the president said in a statement.