Bush Signs Bill Providing $79 Billion for Iraq War, Reconstruction
President George W. Bush put his signature on an emergency supplemental spending bill April 16 that will provide $78.5 billion for initial costs of the war in Iraq and funds to begin paying for reconstruction of the war-torn country.
In remarks that afternoon to workers at a Boeing aircraft facility in St. Louis, Mo., Bush thanked Congress for "acting quickly to give our men and women in arms the support they need." The supplemental funds will pay for part of the cost arising directly from Operation Iraqi Freedom.