Calling for Better Accounting on Iraq
The NYTimes reports today that the incoming House and Senate budget committee chairmen “said they would demand a better accounting of the war’s cost and move toward integrating the spending into the regular federal budget, a signal of their intention to use the Congressional power of the purse more assertively to influence the White House’s management of the war.”
It’s about time! The Administration has gotten away with “emergency supplementals” and other obfuscatory budgetary tactics for far too long. The costs of the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan ought to be tallied up within the regular budget process. Yes, obviously there may be a real emergency which could require additional funding after the budget is passed, but the Administration’s total unwillingness to work within accepted frameworks should have been stopped years ago.
Democrats will use a little-noticed provision in the defense authorization bill that requires the president to include Iraq/Afghanistan numbers in the regular budget plan. This amendment, sponsored by Senator McCain, was passed by the Senate 98-0 back in June.
Senator Kent Conrad, who will chair the Budget Committee in that chamber, told the Times “We are now going on four years into this war and they are still funding it with these patchwork supplementals without oversight and without accountability, and that just has to stop.” Indeed.
Fair, honest accounting is something that I hope all of us – liberals, conservatives, centrists, war supporters and opponents, &c. &c. – can agree on. There is absolutely no reason to allow this Administration to continue increasing the budget deficit without being held accountable for it.
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10 Responses to “Calling for Better Accounting on Iraq”
It would be nice if the media actually tried to learn how the Defense Department runs its budget. It runs on a seven year cycle and is referred to the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System. The PPBS was started during the Kennedy Administration.
The need for supplementals has occurred ever since including the first Gulf War, Bonia, Haiti, etc.
However, the first time that Congress will have any affect (other than passing supplementals is the FY 08 budget that starts on October 1, 2008 (assuming Congress can pass its budget on time). Also, since FY 08 is the first year that expenditures for Iraq could be included in the PPBS system.
The projected budget numbers for Iraq and Afghanistan should be included within the annual budget umbrella (entire, not just Pentagon) – they should not be hidden around the edges and snuck in later so the Administration can pretend not to be driving the deficit into the stratosphere
We will be shocked as a nation when the investigations begin into the war and the profiteering that has been going on.
I have a feeling Haliburton is going to be testifying for pretty much full time the next 2 years and fined incredible amounts.
The raid on the treasury has been criminal and the 109th has been totally negligent. I wish there was a way to hold them accountable for this.
It takes democrats to clean up gop messes.
superdestroyer,
The ‘defence department budget’ and the ‘funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan’ are two different things AND it appears that Bush is wanting $100 billion more, ASAP.
At the very least we will see just how much the war is costing us, and that sum will be enormous.
Imagine that. Liberals teaching corporate conservatives how to balance the checkbook. Or how to UNCOOK the republican books by Nancy Pelosi.
It appears that it was Rep Duncan Hunter (R) departing Chairman of Armed Services and a possible Presidental Candidate, who inserted language into a conference report, after the other members had signed off on it, that decommission the inspector general’s oversight of Iraq related contracts.
Perhaps someone can explain to me how it is possible to interpret this as a reasonable policy?
Paul- If this is true, it shows what lengths the President and his allies in the House were willing to go to to keep the public from finding out about widespread fraud and graft in war-related contracts. The current Inspector, a concientious Republican, was diligently doing what he believed he was sent there to do. Unfortunately, he did it so well, that the results added to the GOP’s corruption problem, and the public’s growing concern that the war and its aftermath were going badly.
Its massive Kim. I suspect the investigators start at NPS in Monterey. Sort of center of the earth for DOD graft and corruption secrets.
This is such Bull. This is the sorta of tactics that continue to DIVIDE this country and make each side hate each other even more.
Time to come together not further tear us apart because of some personal vendettas by a bunch of sore Democratic wackos. (I’M a Democrat)
In the old days we VOTED THEM OUT OF OFFICE. IN the new days the sore loser Democrats who are still screaming about 2000 WANT TO IMPEACH everything that moves.
THERE is a reason AMERICA voted so many MODERATES into office. They are angry at the REPUBLICANS but they darn sure dont want a 2 year witch hunt……..HOPEFULLY people wont listen to the Whacko left who only have revenge in their hearts and minds.
Because if Pelosi and company embark on this two year witch hunt……..I guarantee you they will be sitting at home come December 2008 wondering what to do with their POWERLESS LIVES.