War funding request may hit $100 billion

[theearthisround]

http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2004/12/15/war_funding_request_may_hit_100_billion/

The Bush administration plans to ask for between $80 billion and $100 billion to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan next year, rather than the $70 billion to $75 billion the White House privately told members of Congress before the election, according to Pentagon and White House officials.

"They ran out of the 2004 budget a month early had to borrow 2005," said John Pike, a defense specialist at the military think tank GlobalSecurity.org, a military think tank in Alexandria, Va. "They're already starting to suggest that the 2005 budget is going to be $100 billion for one year alone."

The Iraq operation, he said, has "been running over a billion a week thus far. I think we're probably getting up to $2 billion a week fairly soon."

Few analysts expect the Iraq mission to be wrapped up in a year, and many question why the Bush administration is continuing to budget its war costs through supplementals -- usually reserved for one-time, emergency expenses -- rather than include them in the annual budget request that is sent to Capitol Hill every February

[Willy Wonka]

1. Request denied. Go get your Halliburton cronies to pay the war.

And while you're at it, quit being President and let someone much more competent to do the job.

If * was CEO, he'd be fired already by his BOD.

And We, the People, are his BOD.

[gratuitous]

2. Gee, aren't the oil revenues supposed to pay for this?

And where is that money going, anyway? I don't see a whole bunch of Iraqis driving around in Mercedes on the evening news. You don't suppose it's being stolen, do you? Well, I'm sure President Moral will clean that up in a jiffy!

[leftofcool]

6. "And where is that money going, anyway?"

Body and tank armor, maybe? Oh, that's right, our soldiers are getting that makeshift stuff out of dumpsters.

Laft of cool

[Mokito]

11. Hey, even soldiers have to make a sacrifice for the war effort!

:eyes:

(/oooooooooooooooooozing with sarcasm!)

[Cocoa]

3. I heard Bush talking about "fiscal restraint" this morning

:mad:

[gratuitous]

4. Well, he wasn't talking to himself!

That fiscal restraint dealie is just for us po' folks, who fritter away our money on food and shelter. Don't we know that if we just put that cash into municipal bonds and zero coupon debentures, we'd make a nice return?

[Just Me]

5. Where TF has over 200 BILLION dollars gone already?

Isn't that about right: 79 + 87 + 50 = 216 BILLION DOLLARS?!?!?!

Insane!!!

Where is all that money going?

The taxpayers have a right to know particularly with respect to PRIVATE CONTRACTING!!!!

[atreides1]

8. No One Seems to Know

So far no one in the Congress has had the courage to ask this question, or to even ask for an accounting of where the money went.

From what the media has reported, it hasn't gone to purchase either body armor for the troops or to get wheeled vehicles armored.

So who will be the first one in Congress to ask this very same question.

By the way, as far as this admin istration is concerned, the only taxpayers with the right to know anything are those that belong to that top 1%.

The rest of us don't have the right to know anything, we must trust in our great leader, and never question his wise counsel, we must never say anything detrimental about our brave military forces, and
we must only worship who we are told to worship. <sarcasm>

[porkrind]

14. I think they know generally where it went.

Down the black hole of NSA, CIA, and contractors. It can't be audited because of "security" reasons. A great scam. We are being bled dry by these crooks.

[President Jesus]

7. it will end up being 70 billion this time. Then they'll spin it as...

a $30 billion 'savings.'

[bluestateguy]

9. Prospective Democratic presidential candidates for 2008, take notice.

If you vote for this we will remember in the primaries.

By 2008 this war will be much more unpopular.

It's time to put an "Out of Order" sign on the congressional ATM machine.

[teryang]

10. Whatever the dictactorship wants it gets

100 Billion more for a war based upon lies. Now the price tag is 300 billion.

[The_Casual_Observer]

12. So far they have rigged the system go take these blows

like a bobo man, bouncing right back, including big gains in the stock market. At some point we have got to be looking at the edge of a steep cliff. It's always this way with the free-for-all market rw guys, either all good or all bad, and the good never lasts forever.

[Barkley]

13. War Bill: $100 billion; Pell Grants Cut $300 million

Congress curbs Pell Grants

Spending bill increases funding but could cut or even eliminate eligibility for college aid to as many as 1 million students.

The new guidelines allow the Department of Education to revise the calculation for federal college aid in a way that would reduce the average allocation for the need-based grants by about $300 for about 1 million students, said Brian Fitzgerald, staff director for the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, which advises Congress.

In addition, he said, nearly 90,000 students now receiving Pell Grants would be cut off entirely.

Although the change would have varying effects depending on a student's family income and size, it would likely have the greatest effect on families earning $30,000 to $40,000, Fitzgerald said. Students from wealthier families usually do not qualify for Pell Grants.

But by allowing for a change in the formula, the revisions will save $300 million for the $12.4 billion program, which already has a $4 billion cumulative shortfall, Republican supporters said. Such a move could allow Congress to raise the maximum grant sooner, they said.

http://www.detnews.com/2004/schools/0411/24/A05-15081.htm

[NVMojo]

15. Despicable!!!