US Congress restricts Bush on Iraq spending

WASHINGTON, Sep 29 (Reuters) The US Congress today moved to block the Bush administration from building permanent US military bases in Iraq or controlling the country's oil sector, as it approved 70 billion dollars for funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The restrictions included in a record 447 billion dollars military funding bill were a slap at the administration, and Republicans have stripped them out of legislation in the past.

Democrats and many Republicans say the Iraqi insurgency has been fueled by perceptions that the United States has ambitions for a permanent presence in the country. They have called on Mr Bush to make a policy statement that the United States has no such plans.

US President George W Bush has not said either way whether the United States wants permanent bases, but US officials have predicted a lengthy US military presence in Iraq.

The Senate unanimously passed the military spending bill, sending it to Bush for his signature. The House of Representatives passed it earlier in the week 394-22, as Congress rushed to head out to campaign for November seven elections that will determine control of Congress.

Lawmakers were also slated to approve spending for 34.8 billion dollars for homeland security. Spending bills unrelated to security, which generally are more difficult to get through Congress, will wait for lawmakers to return after the elections.

With this bill, Congress has approved about 7 billion for the wars, with the bulk of that spent in Iraq where costs are averaging billion per month, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Lawmakers called the billion a ''bridge fund'' to last about halfway through the next fiscal year, which starts on October 1. About 23 billion dollars of that is to replace and refurbish equipment worn out in the harsh environments of the two conflicts.

The military spending bill provides 377.6 billion dollars for the Pentagon's core programs, 4.1 billion dollars less than Bush wanted but billion above current levels.

It funds a 2.2 per cent military pay raise, and provide 7 million more for the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard than Bush sought.

REUTERS BDP KP2110