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 ...
-- Members of congress are armatures compared to Bush when it comes to wasting money. --
An electrifing spin on the situation! Shocking!
(Doncha' love spell czech?)
Mentioning the deficit and NEA? The NEA can well take care of itself. I'm sure it's got plenty of wealthy benefactors. The government doesn't need to fund it.
Did I misunderstand you or the other way around?
Give it to him.
forget my last reply. I didn't apply "peanuts" with "peanuts$$."
So, there are other peanut$ programs and they add up to alot of money which can make a difference in the deficit.
I agree that funding the stability of Afghanistan and Iraq are important to our safety. So how do we level out this spending?
I don't control the purse strings....wish I did ;)
Perhaps, but I have little hope that diplomacy will work in places like Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, and North Korea.
(I can't help but note that your arguments echo those of the leftists).
Arguing that we ought to cut spending elsewhere to fund the efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq is echoed by leftists? Since when?
If they are arguing that we ought to cut spending so that w don't have to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars a year then they aren't leftists.
You cut elsewhere. It's a simple equation.
As I posted earlier, Bush could force Congress to take a stand by submitting $82 billion in budget cuts to fund the spending request. Thus Congress could either vote to support the troops, or vote to support pork.
Unfortunately Bush isn't willing to ask for real spending cuts.
Eliminating the Dept. of Education budget would provide about half of the Iraq/Afghanistan spending request. But unfortunately Bush has increased Dept. of Education spending each year he's been president.
If I controlled it, there'd be a freeze on new projects.
Are saying that all of those were responsible for the largest increase in Medicare spending since its inception, massive increases in the budget of the Dept. of Education, and massive increases in farm subsidies?
eliminate Dept of Edu? So that each state would handle its own edu issues?
Hey, let the kids pay for it.
Every penny the government spends eventually has to be paid for by taxes. If we don't pay it now the debt gets passed down.
Sounds like a plan to me. The last time I checked the constitution, the federal govt. wasn't given any control of education by the founders.
What other areas can government give over to each state to cut spending?
I would support a cut in the Congressional pensions. Let them collect Social Security like the masses. :D
more creative accounting
cut Congressional pensions - excellent idea. BTW, what are the retirement bennies for these people?
you don't want to know! Trust me.....
It is a suggestion, but I don't agree with playing politics in that manner in this case. The President is cutting budget moderately. I wish there was electoral appetite for more cuts, but there isn't. When you can't cut spending, at least make more money. We should be pleased with some pro-growth measures that are happening. Tort reform is on its way.
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