By Xinhua
Washington : The US House of Representatives has approved $471 billion in defence spending for 2008, a 9.5 percent increase over last year.
However, the bill, passed on a 400-15 vote, does not include money for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, except $12 billion for new armoured vehicles aimed to resist roadside bombs.
Much of the increase in the defence bill is devoted to procuring new and expensive weapons systems, including $6.3 billion for the next-generation F-35 joint strike fighter, $2.8 billion for the Navy’s DD(X) destroyer and $3.1 billion for the new Virginia-class attack submarine.
The defence spending bill also includes provisions to “grow the force”, adding 7,000 new personnel to the army, 5,000 to the marines and 1,300 to the National Guard.