US lawmakers approve 87.5 billion dollar package for Iraq, Afghanistan.

(From Agence France Presse)

The US House of Representatives approved an 87.5 billion dollar bill for military upkeep and reconstruction aid for Iraq and Afghanistan that President George W. Bush was pushing for.

Passed by a vote of 298-121 shortly after midnight Thursday, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan will next move on to the Senate, which is expected to put it to vote early next week.

The House vote came after the House-Senate reconciliation committee late Wednesday approved a final version of the bill, two versions of which had been approved two weeks ago by both houses of Congress. …