WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives approved 471 billion U.S. dollars Wednesday in defense spending for 2008, a 9.5 percent increase over last year.

    However, the bill, passed on a 400-15 vote, doesn't include money for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, except 12 billion dollars for new armored vehicles aimed to resist roadside bombs.

    Much of the increase in the defense bill is devoted to procuring new and expensive weapons systems, including 6.3 billion dollars for the next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, 2.8 billion dollars for the Navy's DD(X) destroyer and 3.1 billion dollars for the new Virginia-class attack submarine.

    The defense spending bill also includes provisions to "grow the force," adding 7,000 new personnel to the Army, 5,000 to the Marines and 1,300 to the National Guard.

    However, the war spending debate is not over for the week.

    Democrats plan to put the Bush administration's war funding request of 196 billion U.S. dollars in a separate bill and the vote could come as early as Friday.