Senate Passes Defense Bill With Veterans’ Health Funds
The Senate on Tuesday voted 91-3 to approve a revised $696 billion fiscal year 2008 defense authorization bill (HR 4986) that includes improvements in health care for veterans and a 3.5% pay increase for military personnel, CQ Today reports (Rogin, CQ Today, 1/22).
The House last week voted 369-46 to approve the revised legislation (CongressDaily, 1/23). President Bush, who last month vetoed an earlier version of the bill, likely will sign the revised legislation, which is almost the same as the earlier version but excludes provisions related to lawsuits against nations that sponsor terrorism (Flaherty, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 1/23).