Congress sends budget to Bush

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday accepted a Senate amendment that would add $70 million in defense funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The House approved the defense measure and the underlying $555 billion spending bill on a 272-142 vote, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Senate approved the measure 76-17 in a late-night session Tuesday.

The House's approval of the emergency defense appropriation was a reversal of the Democratic leadership's position of refusing to continue funding the war in Iraq.

The defense money was included in a massive appropriations package that incorporated 11 of 12 government spending bills for 2008, CNN said.

The bill now goes to President George Bush for his consideration.The U.S. Senate approved a $555 billion federal budget in line with Bush administration demands and the House revisits the measure Wednesday.

Congress faced a Friday deadline to get a budget to president, as the government -- except for the Defense Department -- has been operating on an emergency basis since October.

The White House has indicated Bush would sign the bill only if the Iraq funding was added, which the Democratic-led Senate did reluctantly, CNN said.