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US President George W. Bush will ask Congress for US$62.6 billion to pay for the ongoing war with Iraq, based on an estimated six months of operation in the Gulf state, the White House said Monday.
Bush, who has told congressional leaders at the White House that he needed the money to cover the military deployment, combat, stabilizing Iraq and bringing home some of the US troops, will announce his request on Tuesday.
Republican congressional leaders voiced support to Bush's proposal and promised to move it through the Republican-controlled Congress quickly.
"We need to make certain that our men and women in uniform have the resources necessary to get the job done in Iraq, and I expect that both Republicans and Democrats will support this legislation by overwhelming margins," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a Republican.
According local media reports, of the money Bush is asking for, US$53.4 billion is earmarked for the costs of military operations, US$1.4 billion for support to other coalition countries and US$4.8 billion for munitions and procurement. While US$1.7 billion is classified and US$1.3 billion is for fuel, oil field repairs and other items.
Bush will also ask US$4.2 billion for domestic security, including the money for state and local governments to use for first responders in an emergency, such as police agencies and fire departments. The newly established Department of Homeland Security will get US$3.5 billion.
US President Expected to Propose More Money for War
US President George W. Bush is expected to ask Congress for about US$75 billion to pay for the war with Iraq and to strengthen counter terrorism efforts at home, US congressional aides said Monday.
The money measure, which the US president planned to describe to US congressional leaders he invited to the White House, is dominated by US$62.6 billion for the Department of Defense. It is based on an assumption that the US-led effort to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein takes 30 days of combat, according to local news reports.
Of the additional money for the US Defense Department, the Bush administration is proposing setting aside US$59.9 billion in an emergency reserve fund that the Pentagon could largely spend at its own discretion with limited input from Congress.
The request was also expected to include up to US$3 billion for domestic security, chiefly for police and other so-called first responders.
For weeks, the White House officials refused to provide a cost estimate for the war in Iraq, saying they could not account for the various war scenarios.
(Xinhua News Agency March 25, 2003)
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