http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/04/21/...iraq/index.html

 

 

Senators seek answers on Iraq budget

GOP lawmaker says at least $50 billion more needed

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 Posted: 2:04 PM EDT (1804 GMT)

 

 

 

Sen. Chuck Hagel: "Every ground squirrel in this country knows that it's going to be $50 billion to $75 billion in additional money required to sustain us in Iraq for this year."

 

 

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military will need at least $50 billion to keep troops in Iraq for the next year, and the Bush administration is trying to avoid disclosing that price tag in an election year, two senators said Wednesday.

 

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, told NBC's "Today" show the administration needs to "be honest with the Congress, be honest with the American people."

 

"Every ground squirrel in this country knows that it's going to be $50 billion to $75 billion in additional money required to sustain us in Iraq for this year," said Hagel, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

 

Hagel and Sen. Joseph Biden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate panel, said the White House hasn't sought more funding for the war to avoid criticism in an election year. (Full story)

 

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the administration does not expect to seek additional money before January.

 

But McClellan said President Bush "is committed to making sure our troops have every thing they need to do their job."

 

"We will continue to always look closely at circumstances on the ground and look to what the commanders are saying to make sure that they have the resources they need," McClellan said.

 

For now, he said, "We have received assurances from Pentagon officials that the resources they have at this time are more than enough to meet their needs."

 

The Bush administration has funded the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with supplemental appropriations that are not included in its budget requests. Congress has passed two of those measures, totaling more than $160 billion, since the March 2003 invasion.

 

"They haven't asked for one single penny for next year for Afghanistan and Iraq. Give me a break," Biden, D-Delaware, told NBC.

 

"Why aren't they asking for it? They don't know? We already know it's going to cost at least a minimum of $60 billion to keep the troops there."

 

Biden said that cost does not include any reconstruction funds.

 

"That's not for building anything. That's not for roads, dams. That's not for anything. That's just for our troops," he said.

 

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is halfway through three days of hearings on the war in Iraq.

 

Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a congressional committee that the decision to keep about 20,000 U.S. troops in Iraq for an extra three months could add as much as $700 million to the cost of the war.

 

"Additional time in Iraq is going to cost us more money," Myers said. "We are working those estimates right now."

 

April has become the deadliest month for U.S. forces since the war began. On Wednesday, the southern Iraqi city of Basra, which has been mostly quiet, was the scene of five suicide bombings. (Full story)

 

The military already is trying to cover an estimated $4 billion shortfall in its current appropriation, which made up most of the $87 billion funding package Congress passed last year, Myers said.

 

Hagel raised eyebrows Tuesday when he suggested the United States may need to reinstitute the draft.

 

On Wednesday, he said he was not advocating a return to military conscription, which ended in 1973 -- but the government "should start realistically exploring what our options are" and should consider some mandatory national service.

 

"If we, in fact -- as the president says and I agree -- are in a generational war here against terrorism, it's going to require resources. The mission must match the resources," said Hagel, who was an infantryman in Vietnam.

 

"The second question here is: Who is doing all of the fighting? This is also a societal issue. Should we continue to burden the middle class, who represents most all of our soldiers, and the lower-middle class?"

 

But House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said the chances of Hagel's proposal passing Congress were "none -- absolutely none."

 

Biden, who supported the 2002 congressional resolution that gave President Bush the authorization to go to war, said the conflict so far is "not a shared burden."

 

"The biggest problem we've had from the beginning of this war is the president goes to war saying that it was going to be a major war, gives the largest tax cut in history, says to everybody, 'Don't worry, be happy' -- but by the way, we are going to send all of these reservists and all these National Guard folks for a lot longer than we thought," he said.

 

 

Thats a ton of damned money.

I am sick and tired of Chuck Hagel. When the media wants a Republican response, it's always Chuck Hagel this and Chuck Hagel that. The man's got a total hard-on for the U.N., and I wish there would be some other Republican faces out there for once.

I am sick and tired of Chuck Hagel. When the media wants a Republican response, it's always Chuck Hagel this and Chuck Hagel that. The man's got a total hard-on for the U.N., and I wish there would be some other Republican faces out there for once.

Well, I did get this article from CNN. :shifty

I wish there were more Chuck Hagel's out there on both sides. Its great when someone is willing to speak there mind despite what they are told to say or not say.

 

 

Other Republican Senators who have publicy critisized the administration in the past: John McCain, William Cohen, Olympia Snowe, George Voinovich, Lincoln Chafee.

 

 

I wish there were more people from both parties who were willing to support sensability over party loyalty.

How many Democrats, besides Lieberman, criticized Clinton while in office? Maybe more, but I never knew because they weren't on CNN ad nauseum like McCain and Hagel.

I wish there were more Chuck Hagel's out there on both sides. Its great when someone is willing to speak there mind despite what they are told to say or not say.

 

 

Other Republican Senators who have publicy critisized the administration in the past: John McCain, William Cohen, Olympia Snowe, George Voinovich, Lincoln Chafee.

 

 

I wish there were more people from both parties who were willing to support sensability over party loyalty.

word.

Uhmm McCain still supports President Bush for re-election despite his much criticized friendship with Kerry.

 

McCain is an old time Republican. A species in its way to extinction I fear.

The neo-cons are taking over! Run for your lives! Politics and political parties are always evolving.