WASHINGTON, March 30 — Over strenuous objections from the White House, the Senate voted on Tuesday for a significant increase in money to provide child care to welfare recipients and other low-income families.

The vote, 78 to 20, expressed broad bipartisan support for a proposal to add $6 billion to child care programs over the next five years, on top of a $1 billion increase that was already included in a sweeping welfare bill. The federal government now earmarks $4.8 billion a year for such child care assistance.

The Bush administration objected to the increase in child care money, saying it was not needed....

Considering all sources of money, the administration said, states are spending three times as much on child care as they did in 1996, so further increases "are not needed."

Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, said that at a time of large budget deficits, the federal government could not afford to spend $6 billion more on child care. But Senator Snowe said the cost would be covered by extending the statutory authority for the customs commissioner to charge fees for cargo and passengers arriving in the United States.

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The war in Iraq has already cost $150 billion dollars, all of it not included in the Federal budget anyway. No money for the next years are included either, nor funds for Afghanistan, because those numbers "cannot be estimated".

It makes me really want to punch someone in the neck.