Bush signs $532.8B defense spending bill

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - With a long list of caveats, President Bush signed a bill Tuesday authorizing $532.8 billion in defense spending, including a 2.2 percent pay raise for members of the military.

The measure, for the 2007 fiscal year that began Oct. 1, authorizes $70 billion in supplemental funding to support the war on terror's operation costs, personnel expenses, equipment needs and other costs.

The White House released two pages of administration disagreements and reservations about provisions that lawmakers put in the bill.

Bush took issue with a provision that would require the Navy to keep its current number of 12 aircraft carriers. The administration is seeking permission to retire the USS John F. Kennedy.

The statement singled out about a dozen provisions that would require the White House to provide Congress with information on various subjects. Bush reminded lawmakers of "the president's constitutional authority to withhold information, the disclosure of which could impair foreign relations, the national security, the deliberative processes of the executive or the performance of the executive's constitutional duties."

Among other disputed areas, the statement said sections of the bill purported to make consultations with certain lawmakers a precondition to carrying out the law. The statement said it would regard that requirement "as calling for but not mandating such consultation."

___

On the Net:

Information on the bill, H.R. 5122, may be found at THOMAS (Library of Congress)