House spending bill trimmed, Senate OKs war funds

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER and ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic leaders in the House are tossing aside billions of dollars in aid to states and health insurance subsidies for laid-off workers as they look for ways to scale back the cost of a catchall spending bill.

Driving the cost-cutting moves are House Democrats worried about budget deficits ahead of this fall's elections.

In the Senate, a war funding measure nearing $60 billion passed with broad bipartisan support Thursday night. The main beneficiary of the bill was President Barack Obama's plan to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.

Democrats will miss their self-imposed deadline of passing a jobless benefits bill before Memorial Day. Even if the House acts on Friday, senators aren't due back for a vote until June 7.