The House Appropriations Committee, meanwhile, has approved a nearly $97 billion spending bill funding the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure was stripped of a more than $80 million Obama administration request to close the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. For the first time, the cost of occupying Afghanistan will surpass the total spent on occupying Iraq next year. In addition to more than half a trillion dollars for the Pentagon, the Obama administration is seeking $65 billion for occupying Afghanistan, compared to $61 billion for Iraq.