The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved an emergency spending bill of 109 billion U.S. dollars to cover the costs of the Iraq war and hurricane recovery, ignoring a veto threat by President George W. Bush.

The bill, passed with a 78-20 vote, includes 65.7 billion dollars in war-related funding, 28.8 billion dollars to aid hurricane recovery in Mississippi and Louisiana and 3.9 billion dollars for levees and flood control projects in Louisiana.

It also seeks funding for add-ons, such as 648 million dollars for port security and 800 million dollars for highway and transit projects, that Bush is unwilling to accept.

The president has repeatedly pledged to veto the legislation if it cost more than 94.5 billion dollars.

"Congress is considering a piece of legislation that will test its commitment to spending restraint," Bush said Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, there are some here in Washington trying to load that bill up with unnecessary spending."

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a 91.9-billion- dollar package, about 17 billion dollars less than the Senate's version.

Senate and House negotiators will discuss how to scale back the Senate bill in a final conference committee.

Source: Xinhua