U.S. Senate approves defense budget bill
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In a rare early Saturday move, the U.S. Senate approved a defense budget bill for the fiscal year 2010 that would fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
By a vote of 88 to 10, the Senate passed the bill critical to the Obama administration, which is seeking finance for the two wars in the fiscal year 2010 starting from Oct. 1, 2009 through Sept. 30, 2010.
The 636.3-billion-U.S.-dollar bill includes 128 billion dollars for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and allows a 3.4-percent pay raise for the military, but may not be enough to cover the expense for the additional troops to Afghanistan President Barack Obama announced early this month.
The House of Representatives passed the bill on Wednesday and President Obama will soon sign it into law.
The passage of the bill signaled a victory of the Obama administration versus interest groups since it has eliminated unwanted weapons programs, including Lockheed Martin Corp's F-22 fighter, at the government's request.
On the last weekend before Christmas, the Senate also voted for a package of bills attached to the defense budget, including two-month extensions of unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless, and the budget for current highway and transit programs.
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