Senate Democrats approve half a trillion dollars for Pentagon, US spy agencies

The rubber-stamp action followed a vote on Monday to approve a massive $648 billion National Defense Authorization Act, which not only sets spending limits for arms purchases, personnel costs and operating expenses for the Department of Defense, but also sets aside $142 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, $17.4 billion for nuclear weapons programs run by the Energy Department and $5.2 billion in military-related activities managed by other federal agencies.

A second vote is required to appropriate the war spending funds. The Bush administration has asked for another $50 billion for the wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the total in “emergency” funding for this year to more than $190 billion.

The authorization act was approved by a lopsided 92-to-3 majority, with only Senator Robert Byrd, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Democratic Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, voting against it.