By Jen DiMascio
The president yesterday sent a $42.3 billion budget amendment to the war supplemental request to Capitol Hill.
The budget amendment has been in the works since early September, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussed the potential request before the Senate Appropriations Committee in the middle of the month, but the request had not received the official go-ahead to be sent to the Hill until this week.
The amendment asks for an additional $14.1 billion for force protection, which includes $11 billion for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles and $3.1 billion to boost efforts to protect the military against improvised explosive devices, according to a White House fact sheet.
The president is asking for $8 billion to repair and replace damaged equipment and seeks $5.4 billion to address shortfalls in Army equipment.
The request also would provide $8.1 billion to fund the surge in military personnel in Iraq since the beginning of the year, and, according to the fact sheet, plans to begin withdrawing five brigade combat teams by next July.
The amendment also would provide $1 billion to Iraqi security forces–bolstering an investment from the Iraqi government and would kick $1 billion to the National Guard and Reserve to allow for shorter deployments to theater.
Bush released a statement about the amendment along with statements urging Congress to swiftly approve the request.
“One reason Congress can move the supplemental quickly is that it’s had more than eight months to study most of the provisions. In fact, nearly 75 percent of the funding requested in the supplemental was submitted along with my annual budget in February,” Bush said yesterday from the Roosevelt Room in the White House.
In addition, he urged Congress to quickly wrap up a “clean” version of the Defense Department’s annual spending bill, which both the House and Senate have passed but for which the House has not named conferees, the president noted.
The war is currently being funded through a continuing resolution that runs until Nov. 15. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) said during Senate consideration of the appropriations bill that another resolution would provide money for MRAP vehicles (Defense Daily, Oct. 4).
But House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) has pledged not to write a blank check for the war in Iraq and has said he is unlikely to address the supplemental during this calendar year (Defense Daily, Oct. 3).
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said yesterday the president should not expect easy approval of his request.
“In the coming weeks, we will hold it up to the light of day and fight for the change in strategy and redeployment of troops that is long overdue,” Reid said in a statement.