House 2007 War Supplemental Bill

The full House of Representatives passed its version of the 2007 war supplemental funding bill today, a day after the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the bill, with both bills calling for a withdrawal of United States forces from Iraq in 2008.

The House bill, passed by a narrow 218-212 vote, calls for all U.S. forces to be withdrawn from Iraq by Aug. 31, 2008. The Senate bill, which is expected to go to the floor March 26, calls for a withdrawal within 120 days of enactment, with only a limited number of troops remaining in Iraq as of March 31, 2008.

After the Senate passes its version of the war supplemental, a House/Senate conference needs to resolve differences and Bush has vowed to veto any spending bill which sets a timeline for troop withdrawals.

Much of the language and line items in the Senate committee version mirror the House bill, including a provision that prohibits any expenditure of funds to close down the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and $20 million to repair facilities at the center.

The Senate bill provides $2.5 billion for the Military Health System, $1.3 billion above the Bush administration's request. It includes $100 million for research of brain trauma injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder treatments. The House version of the bill provides $2.8 billion for the Military Health System.

The Veterans Affairs Department would gain $1.8 billion in funding from the Senate versus $1.7 billion in the House version of the war supplemental, with VA information technology account slated to receive $36.1 million under the Senate bill and $35 million under the House bill.

Despite the growing number of combat veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq seeking treatment at VA facilities, the administration did not request any extra funds for the VA in its supplemental budget request. The Senate committee said the VA has underestimated the number of veterans who will seek treatment this fiscal year by 100,000.