War Costs Exceed Budget, Watchdog Panel Says
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By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
The New York Times
nytimes.com
WASHINGTON, July 22 - Military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are running $12.3 billion over budget this year, and Pentagon officials are trying to make up for the shortfall by transferring money from other accounts and delaying refurbishment of worn-out equipment in Iraq, the General Accountability Office said Wednesday.
The office, a nonpartisan Congressional agency, estimated that the Army was running about $9.4 billion short of what had been budgeted. By putting off other kinds of spending until next year, the military is likely to run up higher costs in future, said the agency, which was formerly the General Accounting Office.
Administration officials have acknowledged that costs in Iraq are running higher than the $65 billion that Congress approved for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the administration's urging, Congress is expected to pass an appropriations bill this week that contains $25 billion in funds for Iraq that can be used immediately.
But the new report suggests that the military could use up nearly half of that money by Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year.
Democrats seized on the report, attacking the administration for consistently underestimating war costs.
"The administration underestimated troop levels, underestimated the tempo and cost of operations, and underestimated the cost of logistics, maintenance, spare parts and services by contractors,'' said Representative John M. Spratt Jr., Democrat of South Carolina and chairman of the House Budget Committee.
In March, the administration estimating the cost of keeping soldiers in Iraq at $4 billion a month. But the costs have risen to about $5.5 billion a month, according to Congressional budget analysts, largely because attacks against American forces and the new Iraqi government show no sign yet of abating.
The G.A.O. estimate on military spending in Iraq is almost the exact opposite of the budget outlook for reconstruction. Congress approved $18.7 billion for reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, most of that for Iraq, but only a few billion have actually been spent.
Much of the delay stems from the insecurity confronting foreign contractors in Iraq, the same factor that has caused American commanders to keep troop levels at much higher levels than expected.
Pentagon officials refused to comment on the accuracy of the General Accounting Office's estimate, but they acknowledged that costs were running well above the original budget and that they needed to divert money from other parts of the military budget.
If Congress passes a Pentagon authorization bill this week, as House and Senate leaders hope, Pentagon officials would be able to dip into the $25 billion in emergency financing immediately. But Pentagon officials said they did not want to use that money until the beginning of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1. |
