Democratic Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka both urged President Bush to sign the bill, saying it offered a new way forward in Iraq.

The Senate passed the bill 51-46. The House — with both of Hawai'i's Democratic representatives voting with the majority — passed the measure yesterday 218-208. Both votes were largely along party lines.

Bush has vowed to veto the legislation.

Inouye said staying the course wasn't working and he wasn't convinced it ever would work.

"How many of us still truly believe if we remain in Iraq that we will emerge with a Jeffersonian democracy on the banks of the Tigris River?" Inouye asked in a statement. "If Iraq is to succeed, it must assume responsibilities for its own destiny. It must decide if it wants to stop internecine warfare. We cannot do that for them."

Inouye noted that the bill appropriates more money for U.S. troops than the president asked, including $1.2 billion more for mine-resistant vehicles.

Akaka said the bill steers the U.S. military away from policing a civil war to training and equipping Iraqi security forces and conducting counter-terror operations.

He added vetoing the legislation would prevent U.S. troops from receiving the funds they need in Iraq and Afghanistan and deny veterans healthcare and benefits.