Congress may get $75 billion war bill

WASHINGTON – President Bush plans to send Congress a request of up to $75 billion early next year to finance wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and operations against terrorism, congressional aides said Tuesday.

A proposal of that magnitude would indicate the wars’ costs, particularly to battle the intensified Iraqi insurgency, are far exceeding what the Bush administration said it was expecting early this year.

Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff, told reporters Tuesday that to make it through next September, his branch alone will need an additional $35 billion to $40 billion beyond what Congress already has provided.

White House budget office spokesman Chad Kolton said administration officials were only starting to assess what is needed to pay for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

“There is literally no way to ascribe a final figure to what we will request,” he said.

Kolton said the Pentagon has enough money to support U.S. troops well into the spring, adding, “We’ll make sure they have what they need to get the job done.”

The fresh request would be on top of $215 billion that lawmakers have provided since 2001 to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan and begin rebuilding those countries, according to White House figures.

Taken together, a $290 billion total would be nearly half the $623 billion cost of the Vietnam War and the $613 billion in U.S. costs for World War I, using dollars adjusted for inflation.

Several congressional aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they believed the coming request would exceed $50 billion and could reach $70 billion or $75 billion. Others said they think the White House will compress the figure before it is completed.