Obama Presses for $33 Billion War Supplement

Most Funding Will Go Toward Afghan War

by Jason Ditz, March 25, 2010

In a move that was widely expected, Obama Administration officials headed to the Senate to press for approval of a $33 billion war supplemental bill, with most of the money going to pay for the Afghan War.

The $33 billion supplement would be in addition to the record $708 billion military budget reported in January. The Obama Administration had defended the record military funding by saying that the war costs would be folded into the military bill instead of being part of a supplement, though at the time they had already conceded that they would need a supplement.

The Obama Administration was already reporting the $33 billion request in January, on the grounds that the latest escalation into Afghanistan was not covered in the budget. At the same time, however, portions of the request did not involve the escalation, including around $1 billion in funding for Iraq.

Members of Congress reportedly expressed concern about the spiraling war costs and the lack of a deadline for ending the conflicts. Yet if $700 billion war budgets are not enough to make them balk, it is unclear what will.

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