US Senate approves 2010 military budget

The US Congress yesterday sent US President Barack Obama a massive annual military spending bill that funds current operations in Afghanistan and pays for the troop withdrawal from Iraq.

In a rare weekend vote, the Senate approved the $636.3-billion package, which cleared the House of Representatives 395-34 last Wednesday, by an 88-10 margin.

Obama is expected to send Congress an emergency spending measure of at least $30 billion early next year to pay for his recently announced decision to send 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan.

The bill includes $101.1 billion for operations and maintenance and military personnel requirements in Iraq and Afghanistan and to carry out the planned withdrawal of all US combat forces from Iraq by August 2010.

The package also funds the purchase of 6,600 new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) armoured vehicles configured to better resist improvised explosive devices - roadside bombs used to deadly effect by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The bill includes $80 million to acquire more unmanned 'Predator' drones, a key tool in the US air war in Afghanistan and Pakistan.