Bush to sign $162 billion bill to fund wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US President George W. Bush is poised to sign a $162 billion war spending plan that will pay for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan until the next president takes office. The package approved by Congress includes a doubling of GI Bill college benefits for troops and veterans. It also provides a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits and $2.7 billion in emergency flood relief for the Midwest. Bush was to sign the bill Monday morning in the Oval Office. The spending bill will bring to more than $650 billion the amount Congress has provided for the Iraq war since it started more than five years ago. For operations in Afghanistan, the total is nearly $200 billion, according to congressional officials.