War Cost Estimate: $75 Billion
President Bush is expected to ask Congress for about $75 billion to pay for the war with Iraq and to strengthen counterterrorism efforts at home, lawmakers and congressional aides said Monday.
The White House has for months refused to provide a price tag for war in Iraq, saying too many variables were at play. That stance forced Congress to vote last week on budget resolutions that included the president's proposed tax cuts, without war costs factored in.
Mr. Bush planned to provide the estimate to congressional leaders Monday, ensuring that lawmakers' discussion of war spending will take place amid a surge of public support for American troops.
The money measure, which the president planned to describe to congressional leaders he invited to the White House, is dominated by $62.6 billion for the Department of Defense. It presumes the U.S.-led effort to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein takes 30 days of combat, said aides.
The request was also expected to include up to $3 billion for domestic security, chiefly for police and other so-called first responders. And it will contain about $8 billion for aid to Israel, Afghanistan and other U.S. allies, a down payment on humanitarian aid for Iraq and for rebuilding the country, and money to increase security for American diplomats.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle told CBS News Anchor Dan Rather that he expected the administration to give congressional leaders "a fairly realistic appraisal" of the costs of the war.
At Monday's meeting, Mr. Bush was expected to ask congressional leaders to send him a completed version of the bill by April 11, when lawmakers are scheduled to begin their Easter recess.
Though lawmakers are eager to demonstrate their support for U.S. troops, Democrats and many Republicans are expected to have problems with parts of the proposal.
Of the $62.6 billion for the Defense Department, the administration is proposing setting aside $59.9 billion in an emergency reserve fund that the Pentagon could largely spend at its own discretion with limited input from Congress, said Democrats who said they were familiar with a preliminary version of the proposal.
"We need to provide every single dime the troops need, but I do think we need to know where it's going and for what purpose," said Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
Obey said that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "wasn't appointed to be the U.S. Congress with the power of the purse. .... We're supposed to know what we're doing before we open the purse strings."