Bush Wins a Victory on Grant for Iraq (LA Times) [View All]

[stevedeshazer]

By Janet Hook, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — In a crucial victory for President Bush, House and Senate negotiators agreed Wednesday to provide more than $18 billion in aid to Iraq as a direct grant, beating back bipartisan demands that some of the money to rebuild the country eventually be repaid.

Bush has been adamant that the reconstruction aid be provided with no strings attached, and he labored for weeks to bring wayward Republicans in line.

His victory came as a House-Senate conference committee approved the final version of a bill providing most of the $87 billion Bush requested for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the more than $18 billion in reconstruction money. Negotiators voted to drop a Senate proposal that could have required Iraq to repay up to half the reconstruction aid.

But Bush's win came at a price: He had to give ground in other areas that reflected lawmakers' sensitivity to growing anxiety on the home front about the war's toll.

Over the administration's opposition, the compromise requires the Pentagon to expand access to health-care coverage for National Guard and Reserve troops when they return home.

source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-congiraq30oct30,1,6549291.story?coll=la-home-leftrail