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Bush to seek additional $ 80 billion for Iraq war
Washington, March 23: US President George W Bush will seek an additional 80 billion dollars for the war against Iraq, a figure that has been kept under wraps for weeks, `The Washington Post` reported today.
Washington, March 23: US President George W Bush will seek an additional 80 billion dollars for the war against Iraq, a figure that has been kept under wraps for weeks, ‘The Washington Post’ reported today.
Quoting administration officials, the post said Bush plans to tell congressional leaders tomorrow that the funds will be needed for combat and the first months of reconstruction, foreign aid, homeland security and humanitarian relief.
Officials were reportedly still working on the presentation of the spending request to be shared with lawmakers.
Democrats have slammed the administration's refusal to provide them with estimates, even classified ones, of the possible costs of the war and its aftermath under various scenarios.
Senate minority leader Tom Daschle on Friday complained, "The war could cost anywhere from 100, perhaps to 200 billion dollars, but there's not a dollar in the budget right now for us as we consider the cost of the war or anything else."
The Senate narrowly passed an amendment to set aside $ 100 billion from bush's plan to cut 726 billion dollars of taxes, with the savings to be used for the as-yet undefined costs of the war in Iraq.
‘The Post’ said administration officials had wanted the option of scaling back the request if the US-led forces met minimal resistance in Iraq -- which has been the case so far in the three-day-old war.
Democrats have slammed the administration's refusal to provide them with estimates, even classified ones, of the possible costs of the war and its aftermath under various scenarios.
Senate minority leader Tom Daschle on Friday complained, "The war could cost anywhere from 100, perhaps to 200 billion dollars, but there's not a dollar in the budget right now for us as we consider the cost of the war or anything else."
The Senate narrowly passed an amendment to set aside $ 100 billion from bush's plan to cut 726 billion dollars of taxes, with the savings to be used for the as-yet undefined costs of the war in Iraq.
‘The Post’ said administration officials had wanted the option of scaling back the request if the US-led forces met minimal resistance in Iraq -- which has been the case so far in the three-day-old war.
Bureau Report