A $106-billion military funding bill that includes $4.4 billion for defense and civil construction is heading to the White House for President Obama's expected signature. Final congressional approval for the package came on June 18, when the Senate approved it by a 91-5 vote. Most of the measure's funds will go to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The largest share of the spending bill's construction funding is $2.7 billion for the Dept. of Defense. Of that sum, $263 million will go to expedite hospital projects in Bethesda, Md., and Fort Belvoir in Virginia, and $488 million for other military hospital work in the U.S.