Bush To Submit Spending Plan To Congress

U.S. President George W. Bush is due to present his budget plan for the next fiscal year to the opposition Democratic Party-controlled Congress.

Bush's proposal is expected to include some $245 billion to fund antiterrorism operations and U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan -- $100 billion for the rest of the current fiscal year, and $145 billion for fiscal year 2008, which begins October 1.

Bush's budget request, which is expected to total some $2.9 trillion, is likely to be debated for months by Congress before lawmakers vote on a final spending plan.

In a related development, lawmakers are also expected today to start debating a Democrat-backed resolution opposing Bush's deployment of more than 21,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq.

Reports say lawmakers from Bush's Republican Party are seeking to block a vote on the non-binding resolution, with some Republicans saying such a resolution would amount to a demoralizing vote of no confidence in the U.S. military.

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