U.S. House passes war bill

By Jeremy Pelofsky

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Thursday $96.7 billion (63.5 billion pounds) for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and economic and security aid to the struggling government of Pakistan.

Under pressure from Republicans, the legislation also seeks to force President Barack Obama's hand on how to deal with some 240 terrorism suspects after the detention facility at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is closed.

The Senate is working on its own version of the legislation that totals $91.3 billion and could vote next week. The two chambers will have to bridge any differences and approve a single version before it can be sent to Obama and become law.

One difference is the House bill offered $1 billion in economic and security aid to Pakistan, which is struggling to fight a surging militant Taliban force spilling over from Afghanistan. The Senate offered roughly $900 million.

Another dispute lies with Obama's request for $80 million for closing the Guantanamo prison by early next year. That has sparked fierce criticism and bipartisan calls for him to submit a plan on the fate of the prisoners before getting the funds.

The House bill rejected the request and would bar releasing detainees into the United States through September 30. It further bans moving them to U.S. soil for detention or prosecution until two months after Obama submits a report to Congress that addresses his rationale and assesses the risks of the moves.

The Senate bill would provide the $80 million. But $50 million would only be available after the administration provides a plan on how it will deal with the detainees and not bring them into the United States.

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