War Funding Going to House

Senate passes $60B war bill, kills House add-ons
By ANDREW TAYLOR (AP)

WASHINGTON — The Senate has passed an almost $60 billion bill funding President Barack Obama's troop surge in Afghanistan after stripping out more than $20 billion in domestic spending approved by the House.

In a take-it-or-leave-it gesture, the Senate is returning the bill it passed in May to the House.

The spending bill is now limited chiefly to Afghanistan funding, foreign aid, medical care for Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange, and replenishing almost empty disaster aid accounts.

The move repels a long-shot bid by House Democrats earlier this month to resurrect their faltering jobs agenda with $10 billion in grants to school districts to avoid teacher layoffs, money for a summer jobs program and improved security along the U.S.-Mexico border.