The US Senate on Thursday voted 51-47 to convert half of President George W. Bush's US$20.3 billion aid package for Iraqi reconstruction into loans.

This means that a rebuilt Iraq will have to repay the US$10 billion in loans. The White House had argued that the repayment will discourage other countries from donating money for rebuilding Iraq at an international Iraq donors conference scheduled to be held in Madrid, Spain, later this month.

Despite the opposition from the White House, the Senate voted on the conversion but allowed President George W. Bush to waive the US$10 billion loans if Iraq's other creditors forgive at least 90 percent of Iraq's foreign debts previously owed by ousted president Saddam Hussein's government.

President Bush submitted a budget request of US$87 billion to the Congress in July to cover the US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2003-2004 fiscal year. US$20.3 billion of the budget will be allocated for Iraq reconstruction.

(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2003)