Congress puts war funding bill on slow track

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Congress puts war funding bill on slow track
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Oct 23, 2007 15:37:08 EDT

Congressional Democrats are in no rush to approve the Bush administration’s new wartime funding bill of almost $200 billion — at least not until they complete work on peacetime funding for the Defense Department and other federal agencies.

The White House formally sent a $46 billion supplemental war budget request to Congress on Monday, which would come on top of the $147 billion already requested for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., the House Appropriations Committee chairman, is currently engaged in completing already overdue appropriations bills, a task that has been complicated by the veto threats hanging over eight of the 12 separate funding bills needed to keep the government running.

Congress has provided temporary funding to keep the government operating through Nov. 16, but work on the appropriations bills is expected to run into December. Congressional leaders are prepared to send Congress home until January, without working on the Iraq war budget, unless the White House and Defense Department can raise strong enough objections to force lawmakers to remain at work. So far, defense officials have expressed no significant concerns about running out of money to continue military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan.

“It’s amazing to me that the president expects to be taken seriously when he says we cannot afford $20 billion in investments in education, health, law enforcement and science, which will make this country stronger over the long term, but he doesn’t blink an eye at asking to borrow $200 billion for a policy in Iraq that leaves us, six months from now, exactly where we were six months ago,” Obey said.

“President Bush’s request is shortsighted at best — he asks Congress to approve another $196 billion for the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including over $153 billion for the war in Iraq alone,” said Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/military_wartime_supplemental_071023w/