The House has approved, on a vote of 276-140, a measure to finance the Department of Education in fiscal 2008.
The bill, approved July 19, was largely similar to a measure approved by the House Appropriations Committee last month, but included an additional $50 million for students in special education.
With that added money, the bill would provide more than $11.3 billion in grants to states to pay for special education, a 4.6 percent increase over fiscal 2007 levels. The measure would provide the Education Department with about $62 billion for discretionary spending, a 7.8 percent increase, in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
The White House has issued a veto threat for the spending bill, saying that it is too far above his request for the bill that covers Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education department programs. The administration requested $56 billion for the Education Department for fiscal 2008.
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