US House passes war spending bill

September 30th, 2009 House passes registry for convicted arsonistsWASHINGTON — The House has passed a bill sought by California lawmakers that would create a national registry of convicted arsonists. The House passed a similar bill two years ago, but the effort stalled in the Senate.

September 25th, 2009 House passes bill to prevent government shutdownWASHINGTON — The House passed legislation Friday to head off a government shutdown next week by temporarily extending spending on most federal programs at current levels, while boosting lawmakers' office budgets by more than 8 percent. The House passed the measure by a 217-190 vote.

September 23rd, 2009 Congress readies stopgap spending billWASHINGTON — With the beginning of the new fiscal year just a week away, Democrats controlling Congress are preparing to push through a stopgap spending bill to guarantee against a government shutdown. The routine measure is needed because Congress has failed to wrap up work on any of the 12 annual spending bills for agency budgets that it passes each year.

July 30th, 2009 House acts to improve absentee ballot trackingWASHINGTON — The government would help states track absentee ballots and verify to voters that their votes are actually received and counted under legislation that passed the House on Thursday. The bill, passed by voice vote, directs the Election Assistance Commission to reimburse states for costs related to establishing absentee ballot tracking programs for federal elections.

July 22nd, 2009 House passes measure to require 'pay-as-you-go'WASHINGTON — With the deficit smashing records, the Democratic-controlled House passed legislation Wednesday designed to make it more difficult to pass tax cuts or new spending programs that would pile even more billions of dollars onto it. The legislation, passed by a 265-166 vote, would reinstate a "pay-as-you-go" statute that requires tax cuts or new benefit programs be paid for with tax increases or cuts to other programs.

June 25th, 2009 House passes Homeland Security spending billWASHINGTON — Democrats who control the House have pushed through a $44 billion spending bill that awards the Homeland Security Department a 7 percent budget increase. The bill passed late Wednesday.

June 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives passed a $680-billion defence spending bill Thursday despite President Barack Obama's threat to veto the measure. The bill for the fiscal 2010 year, which begins Oct 1, contains $369 million to continue production of the F-22 fighter jet the Obama and Defence Secretary Robert Gates say is not needed.

June 25th, 2009 House passes $44B Homeland Security spending billWASHINGTON — The House passed a $44 billion spending bill Wednesday that awards the Homeland Security Department a 7 percent budget increase, with money for more border patrol agents and for anti-piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia. As part of a GOP campaign against President Barack Obama's order to close the U.S.

June 24th, 2009 White House threatens defense spending bill vetoWASHINGTON — Preparing for a possible showdown with Congress, the White House has threatened to veto a $680 billion military spending bill if it contains money for jet fighters the Pentagon doesn't want. In a statement of administration policy, President Barack Obama's Office of Management and Budget said the $369 million a House committee added to the bill for 12 additional F-22 fighters runs counter to the "collective judgment" of the military's top leaders.

June 19th, 2009 Congress passes restrictions on detaineesWASHINGTON — Legislation to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year is on its way to President Barack Obama, but it provides no money for closing the Guantanamo detainee prison and sets tough restrictions on the transfer of its inmates. The $106 billion emergency war bill is not all for war fighting.

June 18th, 2009 House rejects measure on Guantanamo closingWASHINGTON — The House has voted to deny the use of any federal money for the closing of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay next year and to impose restrictions on the transfer of detainees to the United States. But House members, in a narrow vote Thursday, defeated a Republican amendment to a 2010 spending bill that would have imposed a more blanket prohibition on the use of any funds related to closing the facility.

June 18th, 2009 Congress sends Obama $106B war spending billWASHINGTON — Congress is sending President Barack Obama a $106 billion bill ensuring that the military will have the money to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan during the final months of this year. The emergency spending bill contains $80 billion to fund ongoing operations in the two countries.

May 8th, 2009 Senate acts on Pentagon's weapons buying practicesWASHINGTON — The Senate has acted to tighten Pentagon purchasing practices that have contributed to billions of dollars in cost overruns and long delays in getting weapons to people at war. The Senate bill would create a new office to independently assess the costs of weapons programs and would strengthen rules that allow for the termination of programs that exceed original cost estimates.

February 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives Friday approved the $787 billion stimulus package, an unprecedented attempt by the American government to aid the country's economy. The package was approved by a vote of 246- 83 but with no Republican support.

January 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives has approved President Barack Obama's $819 billion economic stimulus plan containing emergency spending and tax cuts. The House measure, which was approved Wednesday, combines roughly $275 billion in temporary tax cuts for both individuals and businesses along with about $544 billion for job-creating investment projects, health industry improvements, expanded aid for the poor and unemployed, and improving education.