U.S., Senate launches military budget by 636 billion dollars

Yesterday - 16.01 Andy Sullivan Continue reading this Story The United States Senate today approved a bill for military spending by 636 billion dollars, which funds the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and also includes money to extend aid to the jobless and payment of health insurance for two months. With 88 votes in favor and 10 against, the Senate said the measure s and now lacks only the signature of President Obama. The House of Representatives had already voted last Wednesday. The law funds for operations of the Pentagon until 30 September 2010. But the $ 128 billion approved for the current wars are unlikely to be sufficient to cover Obama's plans to send 30 thousand more soldiers in Afghanistan. The approved budget represents a partial victory for Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who have tried to eliminate a number of unwanted weapons program despite the objections of members of parliament that they would be a source of jobs for qualified personnel. The Congress has thus eliminated the funds for the F-22 Lockheed Martin, as requested by Obama . but it has funded 10 new transport planes Boeing C-17 which had asked the Pentagon and costing 2.5 billion. Lawmakers also resisted the objections of the Pentagon's VH-71 presidential helicopter built by Lockheed, and a reciprocating engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter developed by General Electric and Rolls Royce Group. Now the Congress has finished work on the laws of expenditure for the fiscal year began the first of October. The measures, which contain no expensive programs to benefit or financial stimulus package approved in February, representing 4.1% decrease from 2008. 'A decrease from the 7.5% annual growth over the past decade, thanks lower costs of the war in Iraq. But the increase of troops in Afghanistan wanted by Obama probably Broder these savings.