War Supplemental Completed, at Last

President Obama has signed into law H.R. 4899, the 2010 emergency supplemental war spending package. Containing $59 billion in overall earmarks, the legislation provides $33.5 billion to sustain the Defense Department’s activities in Afghanistan and Iraq, including fully funding the surge of an additional 30,000 military personnel into Afghanistan. The President’s July 29 signing came after months of Congressional haggling, during which some House Democrats sought to use the supplemental as a vehicle to fund some domestic programs. They finally relented last week following warnings by Pentagon officials that Congress’ failure to complete the bill before this month’s Congressional recess would disrupt defense operations by month’s end. The spending act also provides $13.4 billion for Vietnam War veterans exposed to agent orange, $6.2 billion for the State Department, and $5.1 billion for FEMA. (White House release) (See also AFPS report and Government Executive report.)