Senate Democrats worked on Wednesday to add billions of dollars for anti-terror measures to a spending bill that already neared US$80 billion as Congress hurried to send President George W. Bush money to finance the war in Iraq.
Republicans who lead the Senate and the House of Representatives predicted the bill for the military and to reward allies would emerge largely as the White House wanted, although Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said it did not give him enough freedom to respond quickly to war needs.
The full Senate started debate on the emergency spending package which it and the House of Representatives were slated to pass on Thursday, before a conference to reconcile differences in the measures next week. Bush wants the final bill before Congress breaks for its Easter recess on April 11.
"I think this is essentially the bill that will go to the president's desk," said House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican.
However the White House signaled it wants at least one sizable change, criticizing as too expensive a more than US$3 billion relief package for airlines that have lost business because of the war.
At the urging of Republican leaders, both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees added the airline aid to the war bill that originally cost about US$75 billion.
By voice vote, the Senate approved about another US$700 million, agreeing to increase combat pay for troops from US$150 per month to US$225, and the family separation allowance for military families from US$100 per month to US$500. Both would be retroactive to Oct. 1, 2002.
Reflecting lawmakers' anger at the US Air Force's handling of complaints that a number of women cadets were raped by classmates at its academy, the Senate voted to establish a panel to determine "who was responsible for the atmosphere" at the academy that led to sexual misconduct.
The White House wanted most of the bill -- US$60 billion -- to be in a war contingency that the Pentagon could tap with minimal consultation with Congress. But lawmakers from both parties balked, and the Senate bill shrunk the war fund to US$11 billion while the House bill offers US$25 billion, with requirements to consult Congress.
"I wonder if they've read the constitution lately," said Senator Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat. "They seem to think it is a monarchy and they have a king."
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
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