Democratic Underground Forums - White House may want $100 billion more for war
Democratic Underground Forums - White House may want $100 billion more for war: "White House may want $100 billion more for war
http://www.suntimes.com/output/iraq/cst-nws-costs04.htm...
WASHINGTON -- Congress expects a new White House request for as much as $100 billion this year for war and related costs in Iraq and Afghanistan, congressional officials say.
It would be the third and largest Iraq-related request from the White House yet, and could push the cost of the Iraq war over $200 billion -- far above the initial White House estimates of $50 billion-$60 billion. So far, the Iraq war has cost about $130 billion, according to the White House's Office of Management and Budget.
War costs complicate President Bush's plans for initiatives such as overhauling Social Security. They also threaten his pledge to halve the record $413 billion budget deficit.
Jim Dyer, chief of staff of the House Appropriations Committee, traditionally the first stop in Congress for any official request for money, said he expects a funding proposal from the Bush administration by Easter that ''could be around $100 billion,'' the vast majority of it for Iraq.
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