Bush to Ask Congress for Funds to Fight Iraq War
Mon March 24, 2003 03:36 PM ET
By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush plans to ask congressional leaders on Monday for nearly $75 billion in emergency funds to pay for the Iraq war and to help allies Israel, Jordan and Egypt, administration and congressional sources said.
Bush is counting on the Republican-led Congress to take swift action on the spending plan, which would cover initial war costs and include funding for homeland security and possibly for cash-strapped U.S. airlines bracing for a drop-off in business during a prolonged conflict.
Bush's critics said the war would crowd out domestic priorities like education and health care. "The bill for this unprovoked attack is just starting to come in, and the American people should start worrying that the administration has lost control over the costs," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat running for president.
The Bush administration dismissed suggestions that the federal government, already facing record budget deficits, cannot afford the massive bill of waging war and slashing taxes by $726 billion as Bush has proposed.
"The two go hand-in-hand," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters. "The stronger the economy, the stronger we are as a country. The stronger we are as a country, the stronger our military."
Bush plans to give congressional leaders a preview of his war budget at a White House meeting on Monday. He will publicly unveil it on Tuesday during a visit to the Pentagon.
The administration angered Democrats and some Republicans by delaying release of the spending plan, citing military -- and budgetary -- uncertainties surrounding a war that Bush said was "just in the beginning phases." The Senate acted preemptively on Friday by voting to trim $100 billion from Bush's tax cuts to cover war-related costs.
People familiar with the White House plan say it will be closer to $75 billion, including roughly $62.5 billion for the Pentagon. Initial Pentagon estimates had put the price tag at nearly $95 billion.
Despite concerns about record federal budget deficits, Congress is expected to quickly approve Bush's war plan, though lawmakers said changes could be made.
The United States has already spent $1 billion on cruise missiles, $380 million on chemical protective suits, and more than $100 million on air combat missions, according to a report by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a national budget watchdog group.
In addition to money for high-tech bombs, some of which cost $1 million apiece, Bush is expected to ask Congress for billions of dollars as a downpayment on the reconstruction of Iraq. Billions more will strengthen security in New York and other possible terrorist targets in the United States.
Bush will also ask Congress to provide aid to allies in the Gulf region to help them weather the economic shock of the war. The administration is offering $1 billion in direct military assistance and $9 billion in loan guarantees to Israel. Egypt is expected to get $2 billion in loan guarantees and $300 million in economic grants. Jordan is also in line to receive $1.1 billion in direct economic assistance, sources said.
The Bush administration has dropped plans to provide Turkey with $6 billion in direct aid and up to $24 billion in loans because the Turkish parliament refused to allow 62,000 U.S. troops into the country.
Congressional sources said Turkey could still get $1 billion in economic aid, but it was unclear whether it would be in the White House package due to U.S.-Turkish tensions.
Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Colombia, Poland and Bulgaria are also in line to receive some aid under Bush's war budget, according to sources.
Under pressure from some lawmakers, the administration is also considering including aid to U.S. commercial airlines, which have said they could face up to $4 billion in losses from a prolonged war in Iraq.
"I think it's fairly urgent. Something, I think, is going to have to be done sooner rather than later," Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle told reporters.
But Bush's advisers are divided on bailing out the industry and Fleischer was noncommittal about what might be included in the war budget. "We continue to consult with the airlines... I'm not going to prejudge all outcomes," Fleischer said.
The total defense request is expected to cover deployment costs over the first 30 days of the conflict.
That would just be the start. Experts say occupation costs could far exceed the direct military costs of the war.
The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments estimated these five-year costs at between $25 billion and $105 billion, depending on the number of U.S. troops on the ground.
Rebuilding Iraq after war will add billions of dollars more. The United States plans to redirect Iraqi oil revenues to help fund reconstruction, but many analysts were skeptical it would cover the costs.
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