Posted on 02/14/2005 10:16:27 AM PST by CitizenHelper
WASHINGTON - President Bush was poised to officially ask Congress Monday for an estimated $82 billion to cover the costs of continuing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and a myriad of other internationally related expenses, including training Iraqi security forces and aiding victims of the tsunami.
The White House was to send the supplemental budget request to Capitol Hill late Monday, White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters.
Included in the request is $74.9 billion for the Defense Department, including $5 billion for transforming Army divisions and brigades and $5.7 billion for training and equipping Iraqi military and police, according to a federal official familiar with the supplemental.
The remaining money in the supplemental request includes $950 million to help areas affected by the recent tsunami in the Indian Ocean; $350 million to aid the Palestinians; $400 million to reward nations that have taken political and economic risks to join U.S.-led coalitions in Iraq and Afghanistan; money to help build a U.S. embassy in Baghdad; reconstruction funds for Afghanistan; and money for the Darfur region of western Sudan where a 2-year-old civil conflict has left tens of thousands off people killed and more than 2 million displaced.
In a written statement on this issue earlier, President Bush had said the special appropriation would support U.S. troops and help the United States "stand with the Iraqi people and against the terrorists trying desperately to block democracy and the advance of human rights."
The Army wants to use the $5 billion to convert 33 brigades and regiments — about 30 of which are organized into 10 divisions — into a force of 43 to 48 brigades that would operate more independently.
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
So where were the deficits during the Clinton massive entitlement spending years when we were not at war, and prior to the massive hit on our economy on 9/11? (The clinton admin was spending money on mood lights in NYC, and other such nonsense that has been cut out with this President).
You cannot ascribe this deficit spending to entitlements only, and ignore the recession President Bush inherited, and the expenditures of war.
Indeed. Thanks for the ping!
I am surprised it is this low. I was expecting $87B.
In any event, this action would still be cheap if it cost the US ten times as much.
How is medicare not a form of social security. Are they not both wealth transfers from the present generation to the retiring generation? Are they not required to be paid into through the career lifespan of the worker? The fact that someone new to the country can by pass the entire process of paying into the system and just receive benefits is BS. If you don't agree then you've got issues.
That was during boom/bubble years, and I think we had one small surplus budget come out of that. You really can't blame the recession for the deficits because recessions inevitably happen -- they're a part of the business cycle. And besides, ours was three+ years ago!
Over the long term it's the entitlements that constrain both the federal and state budgets. Yes, we can and are trying to grow our way out of deficit, but that takes time, since we have to outgrow the growing entitlements. There's very little non-entitlement spending to be cut in $ terms.
$3611B WWII >> $87B WOT
I told you to pay your taxes. You don't have to take that from me, but you're gonna have to take it from the IRS, go to jail, or get the hell out of my country.
I'm not arguing for the entitlements. They need to be cut.
I'm just saying that wartime budgets cause deficit spending because people won't stand for cutting domestic programs, especially in our present situation, when everyone doesn't understand the reality of the threat, and the reality of the war.
In the long term, the entitlements need to be brought under control, and this budget is taking a small step in doing so.
On .............. ?
Sorry, Johnny. I don't think we have any basic disagreements (other than the main cause of the deficit), so I'm letting this conversation go.
I'll leave it at this..........this is money well spent. Cuts should be made elsewhere. There's plenty of fat to be cut, and our soldiers deserve our support.
I agree! Thing is the people complaining about the money voted for this man to do the job and protect all of us. Well now he is and now they don't want to pay.
I am as conservative in my beleifs and I beleive in fiscal responsibility but not when it comes to defense.
In my opinion we need to stop giving foreign aid to ungrateful nations. There are billions being given away to foreign countries now that's waste.
Amen! There are plenty of places to cut, but money spent for our national defense is NOT one of them.
This isn't "new" is it? I thought he was just submitting it as supplemental, so that we could separate costs of war from defense budget....?
You have got to be kidding me. Social Security and Medicare are two entirely different programs with dissimilar eligibility guidelines and benefits. Recent immigrants may be eligible for Medicare and not Social Security if they have an insufficient amount of earnings in the United States.
Definitely the classiest end to a heated debate that I have seen in a while. Good job!
Amazing isn't it, that there apparently was no one in the "free enterprise" party that was able to do a cost/benefit analysis on this debacle?
Do you know Johnny Depp? ;o)
Not personally. I don't get out much!
Or are you the kind that plays baseball in Pittsburgh?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.