Congress advances $106 billion war-funding bill

Congress is on its way to giving President Barack Obama what could be its final emergency war-spending bill, an annual budgetary sleight-of-hand that since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has cost the nation nearly $1 trillion.

The Senate is to move to the $106 billion measure Wednesday, a day after the House narrowly passed the bill over the objections of nearly all Republicans and several dozen anti-war Democrats.

The bill provides about $80 billion to maintain defense and intelligence activities in Iraq and Afghanistan through the rest of this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. It includes some $10 billion in economic and security aid for those …