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[Pharaoh]

US House rejects war funding bill

The White House wants funds to pay for another year of war
The Democrat-controlled US House of Representatives has rejected more funding to pay for another year of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The bill would have provided the Pentagon with $162.5bn (£83.5bn) to keep the two wars going but included add-ons wanted by the Democrats.

Republicans withheld their votes in protest, allowing the war funding bill to be defeated by 149-141.

The Senate is expected to debate its version of the bill next week.

The House did pass two components of the bill that call for extended education benefits for returning soldiers and for President George W Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within 30 days of the bill becoming law.

President Bush had earlier promised to veto any measures that restricted his actions in Iraq.

Campaign promises

House Republicans withheld their votes from the bill, saying the Democrats had added unrelated domestic-spending provisions that would delay getting funding to the troops.

"We're playing political games on the backs of our troops - you know it," said Republican Minority Leader John Boehner.

The war funding issue will be raised again next week, when the Senate is expected to debate its version of the bill.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7403961.stm