Reed Requests Supplemental Appropriations Bill from President to Prevent Short Fall in Iraq/Afghanistan Funds

Reed Requests Supplemental Appropriations Bill from President to Prevent Short Fall in Iraq/Afghanistan Funds

WASHINGTON - Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) sent a letter to President George Bush urging him to send an emergency supplemental appropriations bill to Congress as soon as possible to pay for the cost of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last month in testimony at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, General Schoomaker, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, stated that without passage of a supplemental funding bill for the military before the end of the fiscal year in September, the Army would run out of funding for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Schoomaker stated, "I am concerned…how we bridge between the end of this fiscal year and whenever we can get a supplemental in the next year, and I do not have an answer on how exactly we would do that."

General Hagee of the United States Marine Corps and the General Jumper of the United States Air Force also expressed
concern about their ability to pay for operations of supplemental funding is not approved before the end of the fiscal year.

The Bush Administration's Defense budget outlines a 7 percent increase in military spending but does not specifically provide for funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Following is the text of the letter:

We write to request that you transmit an emergency supplemental for the costs of our essential military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan to Congress before the end of fiscal year 2004. We believe that it is in the best interest of our fighting men and women, our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and fiscal responsibility to consider a supplemental for current operations as soon as possible, rather than in 2005.

The fiscal year 2005 Defense budget does not include any funds for ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ongoing operations are being funded out of FY04 supplementals and those funds will be expended on September 30, 2004. The Administration has stated repeatedly that there will not be a request for a supplemental in calendar year 2004. This means that there will be no funding available for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for at least three months. As General Schoomaker, Army Chief of Staff, stated at a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, "I am concerned on how we bridge between the end of this fiscal year and whenever we could get a supplemental in the next year." General Hagee, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and General Jumper, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, stated a similar concern.

The Department of Defense has repeatedly stated that the costs of ongoing operations were not included in the FY05 budget request because the costs are unknown. However, it is known that operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing approximately $4 billion per month. This cost will likely continue, through fiscal year 2005 and beyond. In addition, the services certainly have reliable estimates of costs that will be incurred and are already preparing for requests that will be made in the 2005 supplemental.

In recent history, continuing military operations have been funded through a combination of regular and supplemental appropriations. While we understand that your Administration has chosen to use supplemental appropriations, we believe it is imperative to demonstrate to the American people and our military that we are committed to meeting the needs of our armed forces in a timely manner and clearly identifying how we will pay for those needs.

Because of the failure to include operational costs in the FY05 budget or to submit a timely supplemental, the Army, Air Force, and Marines must try and bridge the funding gap by reprogramming and forward funding. Forcing the Services to piece together budgets is likely to have a deleterious effect on training, housing, recapitalization of equipment and, ultimately, morale. Our fighting men and women deserve better.

We look forward to working with you to ensure that our troops have the resources they need, and we urge you to submit a supplemental request as soon as possible to accomplish this goal.

The letter was signed by Senator's Reed, Carl Levin (D-MI), Evan Bayh (D-IN), Joe Biden (D-DE), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Mark Dayton (D-MN), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), John Kerry (D-MA), Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Ben Nelson (D-NE).