WASHINGTON, DC - May 15 -In a new analysis of the supplemental war funding package set to be voted upon today by the House of Representatives, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation noted the ever-increasing cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the fly-by-night nature of supplemental budgeting.
Read the Center's analysis online.
The supplemental being voted upon by the House would provide $100.1 billion in fiscal year 2008 and $68.3 billion in fiscal year 2009 funding for ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, for a grand total of $168.4 billion. This total includes war-related funding for the Defense Department, State Department, USAID, and Veterans Administration.
"If enacted into law, this supplemental would cement the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as the second costliest conflict in U.S. history," said Travis Sharp, Military Policy Analyst with the Center. "This supplemental would bring cumulative war costs approved by Congress to approximately $864 billion. The real question is, how much more will the American people be asked to give?"
The House's version of the supplemental does not only include war-related spending. It also includes an amendment comprised of restrictions on President Bush's war policies, as well as another amendment that provides funding for both domestic programs like GI veterans' education benefits and non-war-related international programs like food supplies and refugee assistance.
"The White House and Congress continue to use war funding legislation to pay for things not directly related to military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite new requirements intended to curb this practice," said Christopher Hellman, Military Policy Fellow with the Center. "Members of Congress still can't resist using this 'must pass' bill to fund programs the Pentagon hasn't requested."
The House supplemental provides $162.6 billion in funding for the Defense Department in fiscal years 2008 and 2009. Noteworthy funding provisions within this total include:
$2.5 billion for Iraqi Security Forces and $3.4 billion for Afghan Security Forces
$3.6 billion in unrequested funding for 15 C-17 transport aircraft
$1.7 billion for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAP)
$1.3 billion for Bradley Fighting Vehicles
$2.2 billion for Stryker Vehicles
$1.9 billion for Humvees
$2.4 billion for the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles
$768 million for 13 F/A-18E/F Hornets
$602 million for 9 Navy KC-130Js
$141 million for 2 Navy V-22 Ospreys and $301 million for Air Force V-22 Ospreys
$1.8 billion for 18 C-130Js and 7 MC-130Js
No funding for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, although the administration requested $230 million for 1 aircraft
For background information on Iraq and Afghanistan supplemental budgeting, see the Center's online resources.
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