Senate passes defense authorization bill

Senate passes defense authorization bill
By Anne Flaherty - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 22, 2008 22:10:49 EST

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Tuesday to approve a revised defense bill authorizing a 3.5 percent pay raise for troops while sidestepping a veto showdown with President Bush.

The 91-3 vote sends the $696 billion measure to Bush for his expected signature.

The president had rejected an earlier version of the bill because of a provision that would have guaranteed that victims of state-sponsored abuse can sue foreign governments in court and collect judgments by seizing its assets inside the United States. Bush said that would have exposed Iraq to high-dollar lawsuits over abuse during the Saddam Hussein era at a time when the country is struggling to rebuild its infrastructure.

The administration estimated that Iraq had more than $25 billion of assets invested in the U.S. that could be tied up in litigation.

Democrats reluctantly revised the measure to allow Bush to grant immunity to Iraq, so long as he determines that doing so promotes Iraqi reconstruction and that Baghdad remains a “reliable ally” in the war on terror.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_authorization_080122/