Washington ? When Rep. Todd Tiahrt flew over farm fields south of Baghdad, he saw plains as fertile as California’s Central Valley that he considered key to the long-term stability of Iraq.

“They were basically farming like they did two or three thousand years ago, when Nebuchadnezzar was ruling Babylon,” said Tiahrt, a Kansas Republican who made the Iraq trip last month with fellow lawmakers.

With new equipment and farming techniques, Iraq’s farmland could provide enough food not only for the Iraqis but for people across the Middle East, Tiahrt said.

“It would help them get back on their feet economically, and that helps us get home more quickly,” Tiahrt said.

Tiahrt voted Thursday for nearly $87 billion to begin that process.

He sits on the GOP-controlled House Appropriations Committee, which cleared the spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan by a 47-14 vote. The measure goes before the full House and Senate next week.

The bill includes a provision Tiahrt sought calling agriculture an “absolutely essential” part of restoring Iraq’s economy. Specifically, the bill calls for increased production, processing and marketing, and it backs efforts by the Coalition Provisional Authority to train Iraqis.

Besides money for U.S. military expenses, the bill has $18.6 billion in grants to help reconstruct the country, which Tiahrt said would provide stability in the near term, as well.

It includes money for upgrading health clinics, restoring water supplies, encouraging private businesses, supporting women’s rights and creating a modern banking system.

“What we have found is that in the communities where we’ve gone in and helped them rebuild — clean up the playgrounds, make sure the schools are open, make sure the clinics and hospitals have some level of equipment — the people in those areas are more likely to turn the bad guys over to the good guys,” Tiahrt said.

Lawmakers heard from coalition officials during their trip last month about Iraqis helping U.S. troops avoid attacks. One general told the group about how two boys approached a U.S. Humvee to warn of an ambush up ahead.

“The reason those kids did it is because it was U.S. troops that helped open the playground, open the school, got the lights back on,” Tiahrt said. “They liked the presence of our troops and wanted to help them.

While all 14 “no” votes in the House Appropriations Committee were cast by Democrats, Republican leaders managed to attract 15 other Democrats to vote for the spending. GOP leaders also fended off efforts among their own ranks to provide some of the money as loans instead of grants.

“In order to be consistent and give the people of Iraq a chance to get their economy going, we ought to use it as a grant, or in some way get leverage to get the other debt forgiven,” Tiahrt said.