The Costs of War
As the Senate begins moving on the latest military supplemental spending bill, congressional Democrats are mounting a new push to highlight the growing cost of the Iraq war and its affects on funding for domestic priorities.
House and Senate Democratic leaders gathered today to tout new data from the Joint Economic Committee (illustrated in these charts) that breaks down spending on Iraq in a number of increments -- $434 million per day, $3 billion per week and $13.2 billion per month -- and then outlines how that money could instead be used to pay for X number of teachers, police officers, border patrol agents, and so on.
"The president has not been honest about the cost of the war from the very beginning," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), as he and other Democrats suggested the Bush administration was "unwilling" or even "afraid" to send any officials to testify before the JEC on the costs of the war.
"We say to the administration, if you say the JEC's numbers are wrong, come and debate us," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the economic panel's chairman.
Office of Management and Budget spokeswoman Corinne Hirsch pointed out that OMB Director Jim Nussle testified today before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the supplemental and discussed the costs of the war at that session. "He thinks it was a very constructive conversation today before Senate Approps, and he is confident that it would not be as constructive to testify before the Joint Economic Committee," Hirsch said.
Senate Republicans also suggested that Schumer was using his position as JEC chairman for political purposes, as he is also chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
This Democratic message push is related to the party's separate argument about whether spending on Iraq has helped to cause America's current economic woes. While that point is about assigning blame for broader economic problems, today's event was about positioning for the upcoming fight on the Iraq supplemental bill. Democrats plan to exceed Bush's request for that measure and may tack on some domestic items, while Bush has said he would veto a bill that doesn't meet his conditions. Nussle reiterated that point today at the Senate Appropriations hearing on the Iraq supplemental.
That threat prompted some typically tough language from Reid.
"The president, after all this time -- seven-plus years -- you'd think he'd understand that he is not King George, he is President George, and he should work with us," Reid said.
By Ben Pershing |
April 16, 2008; 3:50 PM ET
Branch vs. Branch
, Iraq
, Purse Strings
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Posted by: TWstroud | April 16, 2008 4:22 PM
I am a middle age White Pennsylvanian Woman, and a die-hard supporter of Bill and Hillary Clinton. I stock with them through their difficult years in the White House during the Monica Sex scandal.
I must say that I am very insulted by Hillary's statement calling Obama an "Elitist and out of touch". This statement and many others from Senator Clinton proved that not only is she a racist but out of reality, completely out of touch, and out to destroy the future of the Democratic Party. In my entire adult life, I have never seen a Presidential Candidate who gives the opposing party enough ammunition to not only destroy the other candidate but also destroys the party, and this is exactly what Hillary Clinton is doing to the Democratic Party. She is now making it difficult for future Female Presidential Candidates like me. I am very ashamed as a woman to see the only female candidate out there telling lies, drinking and deceiving voters just to forge a way. Is she calling those of us raised by single mothers and struggle to make it in life Elitist?
When I saw this woman who is supposedly a highly educated Lawyer, a former Board Member of Walmart, and a U.S. Senator, at a Pennsylvanian Bar Drinking beer, and downing a big shot of whisky in front of TV cameras, just makes me wonder as to how low she is willing to go to fake a life style in order to get votes. About a month ago, she lied, cried and cursed her way to win Ohio and Texas, and as suckers, we fell for it. Eight years ago we fell for such gimmick under George Bush. We gave him the benefit of the doubt, because we taught that it was cool to have a president that we can have a beer with. This is how stupid and shallow we were as voters back then. Hillary is hoping to capitalize on such sentiments (not even under Sniper fire). What a joke. Not when you and John MacCain are directly align with George Bush to destroy our country through your ill informed votes. You need to come to us the Military Families whose children continue to arrive home in body bags and explain to us as to what qualifies you to be the next President of this Nation when the only opportunity that you have to show your qualification and experience, you blew it, by not reading the War Authorization Document and straight out voted for it. All you care about is what is popular. Please come to us as Military Families, who are loosing our jobs and homes to sip some suds. I think that the 100 million dollars that you and your husbands have made from his NAFTA friends and supporters in Colombia is just not enough for you. How can the Senator claim that she in touch with the voters, when she and her husband, made more than 100 million dollars when the folks she was drinking beer with, in front of TV Cameras are out of work and many of them lost their homes? Thanks to the Good Senator who together with John MacCain voted for a senseless war that has siphoned all of our Tax-payer money out to Iraq. Thanks to the Hillary and John MacCain for voting to give tax break to the super rich including themselves while the rest of us burn in hell.
Who is out of touch? I AM VERY BITTER AND YOU MUST KNOW THIS.
Monica.
Posted by: Monica | April 16, 2008 4:35 PM
THEN IT IS MOST DEFINITELY TIME FOR LAYOFFS!!
Posted by: UStaxpayer | April 16, 2008 7:34 PM
A few people hellbent on spending the country into ruin are the same people with business interests on foreign soil waiting to collect our tax and investment moneys. When can we start prosecuting this criminal violation of our Constitution by these holders of public office, known as treason? When Bush leaves office SOME of the people will realize that his backers have stolen our coffers and standard of life, our future, and those are the people who will lead in delivering their justice. They'll not live to enjoy their thievery.
Posted by: AL | April 16, 2008 7:50 PM
For those of you who failed Civics class. The Congress writes the checks. If they are unhappy over the spending, all they have to do is vote for it to stop.
Posted by: Policyhawk | April 17, 2008 10:00 AM
I LOVE MARIAH!!!
this is really denman watson from NEW ORLEANS. this is not KATY, DEQUAN, OR ANYBODY ELSE.
BUT I THINK THE WAR IS GAY
I DON'T LIKE STEPHANIE AT ALL... I LOVE MARIAH!!!!
Posted by: denman | April 17, 2008 10:22 AM
I REALLY DO LOVE YOU MARIAH....
THERES NO ONE ELSE IN THIS WORLD 4 ME!!!
I JUST WANNA LICK YOU!!!
Posted by: denman | April 17, 2008 10:30 AM
Perhaps Policyhawk's Civics class didn't quite get to the specific political realities of funding Bush's war in Iraq, or refusing to do so. The warhawks would have been HAPPY to see Bush's adventure end that way, because THEN the failures of the invasion could be easily blamed on the opponents of the invasion...however hypocritical and wrong, the charge would have stuck in too many of the tiny minds of "the public". Bush had to be permitted to prosecute his war his own way, and so he was. If it was a war that ever could have been won, Bush was given every chance to win it. After 4,000+ Americans have been killed by Bush's war died in Iraq (we can't even AGREE about how many tens of thousands of Iraqis), its a little late to pretend that Bush's war is anyone's fault except that of Bush himself, and the people who supported him.
Posted by: Iconoblaster | April 17, 2008 12:53 PM
AM EQUALLT DISTURBED BY THE REMARKS BY ONE OF THE LEARNED SENATORS BY THE NAME HILLARY.WHY IS SHE SPENDING MOST OF HER TIME ATTACKING THE POOR OBAMA.THIIS GUY HAS NOTR EVEN MENTIONED A SINGLE WORD TO HER.
SHE NEEDS TO LERAN A LESSON FROM OBAMA FOR BEING QUITE AND REALIZE THAT IT IS HIGH TIME TO BE SMART TOO
Posted by: nyaribo k | April 17, 2008 2:58 PM
Doesn't seem to be much control over the apropriateness of comments in this thread, does there?
If we'd concentrated on fighting al-Queda in Afghanistan instead of larking off to Iraq, we just MIGHT have been able to catch Osama Ben Laden and brought him and his tribe of terrorists to justice by now.
Invasion of Iraq was based on a lot of trumped-up lies cooked up by Bush/Cheney's oil buddies. Done off the books and without proper armor for the fighters on the front line, the only thing real about this debacle is the human tragedy and waste of America's good name.
I weep for ALL the lost lives, and shake my head at how the wasted billions could have been better spent on medicine, housing, education and a better tomorrow.
Posted by: Luise Perenne | April 17, 2008 4:31 PM
This just in. Julie Nixon Eisenhower has endorsed Barack Obama.
Posted by: majorteddy | April 22, 2008 9:48 AM
This just in. Julie Nixon Eisenhower has endorsed Barack Obama.
Posted by: majorteddy | April 22, 2008 9:49 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Put it to King George like this: You want funding? Then make these war profiteers start paying a war tax!