The House measure, which was approved by a vote of 361 to 68, mirrors a similar bill which passed in the US Senate by a nearly unanimous vote.

The two bills, which differ only slightly, must now be reconciled. Votes in both chambers on final passage of the legislation were expected to take place Friday.

The Senate's 2004 Defense Authorization Bill was approved by a vote of 98-1.

The bill exceeds the 399.7 billion dollars for the Pentagon requested by US President George W. Bush.

The annual spending bill also contains a provision to improve living conditions for men and women in uniform, for the fiscal year starting on October 1.

The lone "no" Senate vote was cast by Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who issued a scathing attack from the Senate floor lambasting an ever-expanding US military budget at a time when the United States is unchallenged as the sole world superpower.

Both the House and Senate earlier narrowly defeated amendments that would have allowed enlisted women seeking abortions to do so on military bases, although they would have been required to pay for the procedures out of their own pockets.

In another contentious issue, the Senate earlier in the week rejected an amendment by Califorina Senator Dianne Feinstein that would have maintained a decade-old ban on low-yield nuclear weapons in place -- a development that unleashed both heated defense and furious denunciations of the administration's defense and security policies from the Senate floor.

Opponents warned Wednesday that introducing low-yield nuclear weapons could trigger a dangerous new arms race.

Supporters called for allowing at very least, research into the use of such devices, which they said may one day prove to be an important weapon in combating new security threats around the world.

WAR.WIRE