|
Bush seeks more war, hurricane emergency money
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-02-17 09:32
US President George W. Bush asked Congress on Thursday for $72.4 billion in
emergency funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as the pace of spending on
the conflicts increased.
Bush also sought US$19.8 billion for the hurricane-battered U.S. Gulf Coast,
which would push relief after Hurricane Katrina to some US$90 billion.
US President George
W. Bush speaks to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House in
Washington February 16, 2006. [Reuters] | "This
request provides the resources necessary ... so the Coalition can continue to
hand over control of more territory to Iraqi forces," Bush said of the war
funding request.
The Pentagon would get US$65.3 billion to finance the wars, while additional
funds for Iraq and Afghanistan aid and operations would go through the State
Department and $2.9 billion would go to intelligence operations.
Bush also sought money for aid for the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur
region, earthquake relief in Pakistan, promoting democracy in Iran and other
uses overseas.
With this package and the US$50 billion the White House said it will seek for
early next fiscal year starting on October 1, the wars' costs will pass $440
billion, and likely will approach US$500 billion by the end of next year, mostly
for Iraq.
The cost for the wars this year will be about $111 billion, up from about
$100 billion last year, White House and Pentagon officials said in a conference
call with reporters.
Iraq operations are costing an average of US$5.9 billion per month, and
Afghanistan an average of US$900 million, they said, attributing the higher
costs partly to higher fuel prices.
Republicans said they would move quickly on the request, while Democrats said
the mounting price tag reflected the administration's bungling of the Iraq
conflict.
"The fog of war should refer to the chaos of the battlefield, not the
administration's strategy," said Rep. David Obey (news, bio, voting record) of
Wisconsin, top Democrat on the House of Representatives Appropriations
Committee.
PREPARING IRAQI, AFGHAN FORCES
White House deputy budget director Joel Kaplan said the money will help
"prepare our Iraqi and Afghan allies' security forces and their government to
stand on their own and successfully combat the insurgents as well as providing
urgent humanitarian relief."
Out of the Pentagon's share of the money, US$34.7 billion would go to
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; US$10.4 billion to overhaul and replace
tanks, Humvees and other equipment being worn down in the conflicts; US$5.9
billion to train Iraqi and Afghan security forces; and US$1.9 billion for
technologies to combat improvised explosive devices that have accounted for many
of the casualties in Iraq.
A sum of $3.4 billion would go to the Pentagon's efforts to make Army
brigades more quickly deployable and interchangeable.
The White House wants an additional US$3.25 billion for Iraq, split between
the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and other government operations and security there,
and money to help rebuild and secure the infrastructure and improve the economy.
It also is seeking more than US$500 million for emergency humanitarian and
peacekeeping needs in Sudan and the Darfur crisis, US$125 million in food aid to
Africa, and $126 million for earthquake relief for Pakistan.
The additional money for hurricane rebuilding would be used for efforts to
provide shelter and medical care to victims, as well as cleanup activities from
the disaster that killed about 1,300 people on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Louisiana would get US$4.2 billion in block grants to improve housing and
infrastructure. The state suffered the worst losses from Hurricane Katrina,
which also destroyed portions of Alabama and Mississippi.
The White House said nearly US$1.4 billion would be spent to protect New
Orleans from future storms. About US$70 million would be spent on early-warning
systems and other crisis communications equipment.
Federal facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina, including a New Orleans
veterans hospital, Coast Guard facilities and border protection, would be
rebuilt with the emergency money.
|
