BUDGET BILL HIGHLIGHTS

BUDGET BILL HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights of the spending bill sent to President Bush on Saturday that would end a freeze on more offshore oil drilling and provide money for federal agencies in the budget year that begins Wednesday.

OFFSHORE DRILLING

Lift quarter-century ban on drilling for oil off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts but keep in place restrictions on drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

TEMPORARY SPENDING

Keep most domestic agencies operating at current levels through March 6 unless Congress separately enacts their budgets.

SECURITY SPENDING

Combine $603 billion for the 2009 budgets for the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. Pay for a 3.9 percent raise for military personnel, provide a 10 percent increase for veterans’ health programs and boost the homeland security budget by 6 percent.

DISASTER AID

Provide $23 billion in emergency aid for victims of recent hurricanes and summer floods in the Midwest. That includes $2.8 billion for flood control projects in New Orleans and the Midwest, $8 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, and $6.5 billion in community development grants to speed relief to flood and hurricane victims.

Associated Press