The US Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that will provide additional 70 billion US dollars for war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan in the fiscal year 2008 begins Oct. 1.

 

The strong 70-25 vote signaled sufficient bipartisan support that the measure could clear Congress as early as Wednesday.

 

Among the total, 40 billion dollars are earmarked for Iraq and the rest 30 billion dollars for Afghanistan.

 

The measure, a Republican-sponsored amendment to a 555-billion-US-dollar government spending bill, stopped short of attaching any requirement to withdraw US troops from Iraq.

 

Therefore, it was viewed as a victory for the Bush administration and the Republicans who have spent much of the year fending off Democrats' attempts to link war funding to timetable to pull out troops.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2007)