$87 Billion War Request Details Spending

[cthrumatrix]

$87 Billion War Request Details Spending
Democrats Challenge Policy of Higher Funding for Iraqis Than for Americans

By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 18, 2003; Page A04


President Bush formally shipped his $87 billion war spending request to Congress last night, offering new details about the burgeoning costs of reconstructing Iraq and drawing criticism from Democrats that the White House is willing to spend more on Iraqis than on U.S. citizens.

The spending bill's fine print offers a glimpse of the task the administration faces in rebuilding Iraq. Of the president's request, nearly $5.8 billion would go toward rebuilding Iraq's electricity system. An additional $2.1 billion is earmarked for its oil infrastructure, $3.7 billion for water and sewer building, $800 million for telecommunications and transportation improvements, and $900 million to upgrade hospitals and health care.

U.S. taxpayers will construct two prisons in Iraq, build houses and finance the importation of $900 million worth of fuel to a country with the world's second-largest oil reserves. All that is to be done by the end of 2004, administration officials said.

snip

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26677-2003Sep17.html

Interesting....I remember seeing the estimates for electricity and water @ $30B (3 weeks ago)...now down to $9B....seems like quite a divergence.

[cthrumatrix]

1. No profit in the oil business? How can that be...?

"Some of the shortfall is also to be covered by Iraqi oil sales. But for now, one official said, the $12 billion in oil exports anticipated next year will cover only the cost of oil industry operations. Of the oil industry request, $1.2 billion would go to rapid pipeline repair equipment and operations in anticipation of continued sabotage."

I can't believe there is no profit in the oil...or at least it seems that it's not Iraq's.

[SoCalDem]

7. Somebody sure made a killing on the high prices here in CA

Oil company profits are Waaaaaay up for the quarter..

It's too damned bad that the 87 billion could not come from the ones who love this guy so much.. They are willing to spend the money , since they already got their little freebie tax cut,cap gains rollback,inheritance tax elimination..

Poor little dumb freepies, they support this guy because they think that someday they too will be rich and will share in the wealth.. what a bunch of "morans".. I wish a long unemployment stint for each and every one of them.. If not for them, then for their grown children.. Let them support an extended family on one income for a while, and see how long they feel "rich"..

[cthrumatrix]

2. $6.9B spent anyway that Shrub see fit....that makes sense

"Officials said they would insist on funding flexibility that congressional members of the appropriations committees have long resisted. The White House wants $1.9 billion for its flexible Iraqi Freedom Fund, which the Pentagon could spend as it chooses. Bush is also seeking authority to shift $5 billion of the request wherever the military chooses."


We need financial invesigators starting yesterday....

[saigon68]

3. Disgusting and Immoral

Is anyone as outraged as I am over this???

$87,000,000,000.00 to blow the crap out of, and rebuild a country that has all the demeanor of a homeless drunk and panhandler on the streets of D. C.

I guess right here in America we have NO---

1. Children to educate.

2. Seniors who need prescription drugs.

3. Unemployed workers.

4. Veterans of this or prior Wars to take care of.

5. Crumbling infastructure to fix.

6. Electrical or water grid problems.

7. Problems with social security.

8. Lagging economy with 2 million fewer jobs than 3 years ago.


Ho- Hum what uncaring scum ---Cheney, Wolfie and the CHIMP.

Does anyone really think that this money will be used for anything else but bribes and kick-backs.

I'll bet at least half, will be incentive bonuses, corrupt bribes, criminal graft, illegal inducements etc. etc.

[meti57b]

4. well-said! and you bet we're outraged over this!!

It's beyond belief.

[truthisfreedom]

5. keep in mind... $87B would wipe out all of the US states' deficits at once

and that would actually mean something to us.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. I read this as $87B to Halliburton and other companies

who will steal the money and run.

[papau]

8. REUTERS: Bush Sends $87 Billion War Plan to Congress

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-iraq-usa-costs.html

Bush Sends $87 Billion War Plan to Congress
By REUTERS Filed at 0:19 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House sent to Congress on Wednesday an $87 billion plan to fund military operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq, and said it hoped donor nations and Iraqi oil revenue would contribute $30 billion to $55 billion more over the next four years. Democrats and Republicans alike promised a close review of President Bush's request, which is expected to pass despite a poll showing 60 percent of Americans opposed it....."The issue isn't the money. The issue is the policy," said Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

The White House estimated Iraq's reconstruction needs at between $50 billion to $75 billion through 2007, of which Bush's spending plan would provide $20 billion over the next 12 to 15 months.A senior administration official said Iraq would contribute $5 billion a year starting in 2005 from surplus oil revenues, and that Washington would try to convince other rich nations and international lending agencies to fill the funding gap.<snip>
But a senior U.S. official, who asked not to be identified, acknowledged the difficult job ahead convincing wary allies whose first reaction was ``sticker shock.''

Bush's plan includes $66 billion for the U.S. military deployment and intelligence operations. Of that, $51 billion would go to Iraq.
A senior adviser to Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, said ``a very substantial commitment'' of American funds was being made to completely build and equip a planned 40,000-member Iraqi army. The United States, Walter Slocombe said, planned to train 27 Iraqi motorized infantry battalions and had recently ordered 40,000 Soviet-designed AK-47 rifles costing about $59 each.The budget package would also provide $20.3 billion for reconstruction in Iraq, including $2.1 billion to repair the oil infrastructure.

The White House estimated Iraqi oil revenues at $12 billion in 2004 and said they would be used entirely to cover the country's operating expenses, before jumping to nearly $20 billion in both 2005 and 2006.In addition to money for Iraq, Bush's package includes $11 billion for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, and $800 million to accelerate that country's reconstruction efforts.Earlier this year, Congress gave Bush $79 billion to pay for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[papau]

9. I like the per Person - USA vs Iraq - comparison - and Flex spending!

<snip>..The spending bill's fine print offers a glimpse of the task the administration faces in rebuilding Iraq. Of the president's request, nearly $5.8 billion would go toward rebuilding Iraq's electricity system. An additional $2.1 billion is earmarked for its oil infrastructure, $3.7 billion for water and sewer building, $800 million for telecommunications and transportation improvements, and $900 million to upgrade hospitals and health care.U.S. taxpayers will construct two prisons in Iraq, build houses and finance the importation of $900 million worth of fuel to a country with the world's second-largest oil reserves. All that is to be done by the end of 2004, administration officials said.

"These funds are necessary to win the war on terrorism and support our troops," an administration official said to reporters during a conference call that was conducted on condition of anonymity. "And that's for Americans. The faster Iraq is fully stabilized and secure, the faster Americans can leave."There is little doubt Congress will give Bush what he seeks, but Democrats have signaled they will try to extract a political price.

Rep. David R. Obey (Wis.), the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, issued a report showing how much the administration would pay to meet Iraqis' needs compared with Americans'. The budget proposal allocates $157 per Iraqi for sewage improvements, compared with $14 per American, for example. The administration is devoting $38 per Iraqi for hospitals, compared with $3.30 per American...... Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) has said he will draft legislative language demanding equal financial treatment for Iraqis and Americans.Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, introduced legislation yesterday to finance the $87 billion package by reducing the size of Bush's tax cut for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. The proposal, cosponsored by Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), a presidential aspirant, would increase the top tax rates from 2005 through 2010 for those with taxable incomes of more than $312,000 a year.Even Democrats concede such gambits have little chance of passing, but they are meant to hammer home their contention that Bush has gotten the country into financial and military quicksand.<snip>


Administration officials say the request envisions no change from the 200,000 troops deployed in Iraq and Kuwait. Indeed, the president is seeking $2.2 billion to finance additional military reserve and National Guard mobilizations. The $20.3 billion sought for Iraqi relief and reconstruction is only part of the $50 billion to $75 billion that will be needed to do the job, administration officials concede. They hope some of the shortfall will be made up at the end of October, when an international donors' conference is to convene in Madrid, although senior administration officials have publicly said they do not expect much help.Some of the shortfall is also to be covered by Iraqi oil sales. But for now, one official said, the $12 billion in oil exports anticipated next year will cover only the cost of oil industry operations. Of the oil industry request, $1.2 billion would go to rapid pipeline repair equipment and operations in anticipation of continued sabotage....the White House will also try to free up about $1.3 billion by canceling some United Nations contracts under the U.N. oil-for-food program that the administration says are not needed.<snip>

Officials said they would insist on funding flexibility that congressional members of the appropriations committees have long resisted. The White House wants $1.9 billion for its flexible Iraqi Freedom Fund, which the Pentagon could spend as it chooses. Bush is also seeking authority to shift $5 billion of the request wherever the military chooses.

[htuttle]

10. Why do they need to build 2 new prisons?

Wasn't Saddam supposed to have been keeping a lot of people in jail?

Isn't there enough prison space already?

So, the US is going to be keeping so many MORE people in jail than Saddam did, that we need to build TWO new prisons?

Questions, questions, questions...but few answers.

[saigon68]

11. we need a new prison to lock up the war criminals, who started this war.

also some space for ashcroft's angels of death.