Bush
Sends Emergency Funds Request to Congress
for Iraq War 
Tuesday, October
23rd, 2007
President George W. Bush asked Congress yesterday for another $196.4
billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for at least another
year. We told you back in September that this was going to
happen.
Yesterday, Bush sent an emergency request to the U.S. Congress,
asking for $45.9 billion to be expedited, which is in addition to
the $150.5 billion in war spending included in the 2008
budget.
Bush said the additional funding is for "basic needs, like bullets
and body armor," and emergency funding for "critical national security
needs."
He said "members of Congress should consider the supplemental
promptly."
"Every member of Congress who wants to see both success in Iraq
and our troops begin to come home should strongly support this bill,"
Bush said. Oh, okay, so funding the war longer will bring our
troops home faster?
"President Bush should not expect Congress to rubber-stamp his
latest supplemental request -- we won't do that,'' Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said today on the chamber's floor.
"In the coming weeks, we'll hold it up to the light of day and fight for
a change in strategy and redeployment of troops that's long
overdue.''
The latest request includes:
*$1 billion for military construction projects, including
improvements at airfields and other U.S. bases in Iraq.
*$1 billion to expand the Iraqi security forces.
*$1 billion to train National Guard units.
The $189.3 billion Pentagon request for 2008 includes:
*$77 billion for military operations and maintenance.
*$30.5 billion for to protect U.S. forces from roadside bombs,
snipers, and other threats.
*$46.5 billion to repair and replace equipment that has been damaged
or destroyed in combat or worn out in harsh conditions in Iraq and
Afghanistan
You
can watch the video of the President asking Congres for the funds, and
more of what he said on CNN here.
P.S.: So far the war in Iraq has taken the lives of
over 3,830 U.S. military and more than 73,000 Iraqi civilians.
That we've accounted for.
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