The Washington Post is reporting tomorrow that the Bush administration will seek an increase in emergency funding of almost $70 billion.
From the lead to the article:
“The Bush administration intends to seek about $70 billion in emergency funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan early next year, pushing total war costs close to $225 billion since the invasion of Iraq early last year, Pentagon and congressional officials said yesterday.”
Of course, these are all estimates and assuming that President Bush is re-elected to a second term. The article goes on to discuss the impact of the huge new request:
“Bush has said for months that he would make an additional request for the war next year, but the new estimates are the first glimpse of its magnitude. A $70 billion request would be considerably larger than lawmakers had anticipated earlier this year. After the president unexpectedly submitted an $87 billion request for the Iraq and Afghanistan efforts last year, many Republicans angrily expressed sticker shock and implored the administration not to surprise them again.
This request would come on top of $25 billion in war spending allocated by Congress for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The two bills combined suggest the cost of combat is escalating from the $65 billion spent by the military in 2004 and the $62.4 billion allocated in 2003, as U.S. troops face insurgencies that have proven far more lethal than expected at this point.”
If a proposal from a second Bush administration (God help us all if that is true) shocks and surprises Republicans the way it did the first time, the nation could be in for some big debate and it could split the Republican party pretty interestingly.
I guess the Senate turnout will get even more interesting then, especially if the Republicans reclaim a majority, if it splits, or if the Democrats take over.
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