Obama signs defense bill
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He had threatened to veto the legislation only if funding for an additional engine for F-35 fighter jet is included. But the Congress approved that funding in the bill he signed.
The law also marks a transition of focus in defense spending from conventional warfare to small conflicts.
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US President Barack Obama shakes hands with US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (2nd L) after signing a 680-billion-US-dollar defense authorization bill for Fiscal Year 2010 in the East Room of the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the US, Oct. 28, 2009. [Zhang Yan/Xinhua] |
Under the bill, big-ticket programs for conventional wars were terminated while programs designed to fight small wars get more funding, including the mine-resistant vehicles, unmanned aircraft and littoral combat ships.
Among the total funds authorized by the law, 550 billion dollars will go to the Pentagon and the national security programs of the Department of Energy, while the rest 130 billion dollars will be used to support war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Afghan war funding includes 7.5 billion dollars to train and equip Afghan forces and a program to pay Taliban fighters who renounce insurgency.
The bill also includes the controversial Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard bill, referring to a Wyoming teen murdered in 1998 because he was a homosexual.
The act provides additional support for local law enforcement and prosecutors to try violent crimes that are motivated by the victim's religion, color, gender, or sexual orientation.
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