WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate was poised to pass the first of 12 spending bills on Thursday night and smash President Bush's budget for border control and other homeland security programs. The $40.6 billion measure was expected to pass by an overwhelming vote, with the tally virtually certain to be high enough to overcome a promised Bush veto.The already popular bill became more so with the addition of $3 billion above budget caps set by both Bush and his Democratic rivals to secure the U.S-Mexico border and seek out immigrants who have overstayed their visas. The Senate bill also greatly exceeds Bush's request for homeland security grants to state and local governments for improving disaster planning and training and paying for new fire and rescue equipment.
The border security money was broken out of Bush's immigration bill, which failed last month. The money would go toward seizing ``operational control'' over the U.S.-Mexico border with additional Border Patrol agents, vehicle barriers, border fencing and observation towers, plus a crackdown on people who overstay their visas.