Congress approves $100 billion for wars

The bill includes benchmarks the Iraqi government must meet before receiving additional reconstruction funds.

Supporters said the war funding provides vital resources for American soldiers in the field.

Opponents grumbled additional spending does little to change the course of the war. But Democratic leaders said they simply did not have the votes to override President Bush’s veto of troop-withdrawal dates.

The House passed the war spending bill 280-142.

Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Dean Heller and Jon Porter, both R-Nev., voted for the bill.

The House took a separate vote on a portion of the spending package that included another $20 billion for domestic initiatives and raised the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour.

This is the first minimum wage increase in a decade, and it will be phased in during three stages in the next two years.

Advocates said the raise is long overdue for those they called the hardest-working Americans.

Critics argued that attaching a minimum wage raise to a war funding bill was a sneaky way to do business.

The vote for additional domestic spending was 348-73.

Berkley, Heller and Porter voted for the minimum wage increase.

The Senate combined the two portions into a single vote, which passed 80-14.

Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Harry Reid, D-Nev., voted for the bill.

IMMIGRATION DEBATE BEGINS

The Senate voted 69-23 to begin debating a comprehensive immigration bill, which would legalize most of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States and beef up border controls.

The debate will continue after Congress returns from a weeklong recess.

Senators who voted to begin the debate said the immigration system is broken and must be improved through legislation.

Opponents complained the legislation was being rushed and would provide “amnesty” for illegal immigrants.

Ensign and Reid voted to begin the immigration debate.

In one of the key votes after debate began, an amendment by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., that would have eliminated the guest-worker program for immigrants after five years failed 49-48.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., one of the main sponsors of the legislation, reportedly talked Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, into changing his vote so the amendment would be defeated.

Reid voted for the amendment. Ensign voted against it.

The Senate voted 64-21 to reject another Dorgan amendment that would have stripped the temporary-worker program from the bill.

The guest-worker program authorizes 400,000 to 600,000 visas a year for immigrant workers eligible to stay for two years.

Bush and supporters of the bill said the guest-worker program is essential to supply laborers for American farms and other businesses.

Critics, including labor unions, argued the guest-worker program would depress wages and cost Americans jobs.

Reid voted for the amendment. Ensign voted against it.

BUNDLING DISCLOSURE OK’D

The House voted 396-22 to require lobbyists to reveal “bundled” contributions they arrange for lawmakers.

Campaign finance laws limit individual contributions to $2,300 per campaign.

To get around this law, lobbyists persuade multiple donors to make contributions to a campaign.

Since candidates are only required to list individual donors, the role of a fundraiser who may have bundled contributions has not been disclosed.

Supporters of the bill said it would reveal bundling by lobbyists such as Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to bribery and is serving a prison sentence.

Critics said the bill unfairly targets lobbyists when other industries also bundle contributions for politicians.

Berkley, Heller and Porter voted for the disclosure of bundled contributions.