WH Seeks $87.6B for Iran War Costs     06/25 06:25

   The White House has formally requested $87.6 billion mostly to replenish the 
Pentagon after the U.S. war against Iran, submitting the request to Congress at 
a politically difficult time as Republican and Democratic lawmakers have 
objected to any further military action.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House has formally requested $87.6 billion 
mostly to replenish the Pentagon after the U.S. war against Iran, submitting 
the request to Congress at a politically difficult time as Republican and 
Democratic lawmakers have objected to any further military action.

   The Office of Management and Budget sent the supplemental spending request 
on Wednesday. It arrived just hours after President Donald Trump assailed 
Republican senators during a private lunch -- engaging in a shouting match with 
one -- over their votes to approve a war powers resolution that would halt 
further hostilities.

   The request is mostly for expenses incurred by the Defense Department as 
part of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.-led attack on Iran. But it also includes 
a range of other items, including $11.1 billion toward economic assistance for 
American farmers, $1.4 billion for the Ebola virus outbreak in Central Africa 
and $500 million to support ongoing efforts "to complete restoration and 
construction projects in and around Washington, D.C."

   "I urge the Congress to take action on these important and urgent requests 
as soon as possible," said OMB Director Russ Vought in a letter to House 
Speaker Mike Johnson.

   Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said, "President Trump is asking 
taxpayers to clean up his messes, to the tune of $87.6 billion."

   "After dragging America into a reckless war, he now wants Congress to hand 
him tens of billions more to paper over the damage -- while families are still 
paying higher prices."

   There may not be enough support in Congress to pass war funds

   It's unclear how quickly the House and Senate could act on the White House's 
request, or if Congress takes up the matter at all. The funding faces a 
difficult path because many lawmakers could view any votes as a reflection of 
test of their support for the war effort.

   Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday 
briefing House GOP lawmakers from the conservative Republican Study Committee 
on the Pentagon's budgetary needs. The White House is seeking as much as $1.5 
trillion in defense spending in this year's budget, a nearly 50% increase over 
previous levels.

   But many lawmakers have complained they have yet to receive any formal 
briefing from the administration on the Iran war, nearly four months after it 
was launched, and as Trump's team is now working to secure a fragile ceasefire 
and bring an end to the conflict.

   Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations 
Committee, said the request is not merely to pay for "the president's 
disastrous war, but an attempt to secure tens of billions of additional dollars 
for unrelated Pentagon priorities."

   Murray said she would review to ensure servicemembers are taken care of, 
"but I will not rubberstamp tens of billions more for this disastrous war of 
choice."

   Yet the White House was clear to include provisions to interest lawmakers 
from various regions, including $1 billion to assist "the final design and 
construction of a modernized Penn Station in New York City," which would be of 
interest to Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New 
York.

   Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, 
and Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Ca., who chairs the panel's subcommittee on Defense, 
said in a joint statement, "President Trump's request reflects the reality that 
our defense strength must be maintained, not merely demonstrated."

   Money for farmers, the Ebola outbreak and other needs included

   The bulk of the request, $67 billion, is to replenish the Pentagon from the 
Iran war. The largest portion of that defense funding, $21 billion, would go to 
weapons and munitions, with another $17.3 billion for operational costs and 
$12.1 billion for other classified programs. Funds are also requested to cover 
fuel costs, drone manufacturing and cybersecurity.

   The money for farmers would provide $10 billion in economic assistance to 
row and specialty crop farmers and $1.1 billion specifically to Florida 
agriculture producers who suffered losses from this past year's winter storms.

   The package also includes a collection of policy proposals that the 
administration strongly supports, and which are certain to raise interest among 
lawmakers.

   Among them, the package proposes revisions to federal regulations of hemp 
products that have long been in dispute, changes to the year-round sales of 
renewable fuels and lifting of restrictions around federal investment support 
in Venezuela.

   The administration is also requesting $550 million to prevent and detect the 
Ebola virus in Congo, where an outbreak has killed more than 250 people. 
Another $800 million would go to provide humanitarian assistance to the region.