WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A $649 billion defence spending bill for next year easily passed the US House of Representatives on Friday after four days of debate in which war-weary lawmakers sought to curb President Barack Obama’s combat operations in Afghanistan and Libya.
The measure, approved 336-87 in the Republican-dominated House, would raise the Pentagon’s base budget for the 2012 fiscal year beginning on Oct. 1 by about $17 billion over current levels, despite intense pressure to slash the $1.4 trillion US deficit.
The House cut about $8 billion from Obama’s overall defence spending request, voting to provide about $530 billion for the Pentagon’s primary budget and another $119 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama asked for about $690 billion for military spending for 2012.
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