Cutting Medicare, Funding the War

With a veto-proof margin, the Senate passed legislation Wednesday blocking a Bush administration proposal opposed by patients relying on Medicare and the doctors who treat them.

The administration had announced that doctors treating millions of Medicare patients would see their payments cut by 10.6 percent July 1, although it delayed that action until mid-July. The Senate voted 69-30 on a procedural motion to block those cuts and then passed final legislation on the bill through a voice vote.

US President George W. Bush on Monday signed into law a 162-billion-dollar spending bill funding the Afghanistan and Iraq wars well into 2009 -- roughly six months into his successor's term.

"With this legislation, we send a clear message to all that are serving on the front line that our nation continues to support them," he said after signing the bitterly debated legislation at the White House.