Democrats May Cut Bush Military Budget

By ANDREW TAYLOR

WASHINGTON – Democrats are considering cutting President Bush’s budget $142 billion request for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan next year by $20 billion, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad said Thursday.

The war funding cut would affect the budget year beginning Oct. 1 and is separate from the ongoing debate over Bush’s $100 billion request for immediate supplemental funding for Iraq and Afghanistan.

The North Dakota Democrat said he likely will use Congressional Budget Office estimates – instead of the administration’s February budget request – as the basis for estimating Iraq and Afghanistan war costs.

The administration asked for $141.7 billion for Fiscal 2008, but assumes only $50 billion for 2009 and no war funding after that.

CBO issued an estimate last month that forecasts 2008 costs of $120 billion for Pentagon operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and military aid for the armies of those two countries. The estimates would drop to $75 billion in 2009 and to $40 billion in 2010.

Conrad is following a CBO scenario under which the number of troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan are reduced to 30,000 by 2010.

But over the full five-year window, Conrad said Democrats would actually provide $85 billion more in war funds than Bush requested since he assumes a continued troop presence over 2010-2012.

"We are going to provide actually more funding , because we think the president’s budget has understated the war costs over the five-year period," Conrad said.

He added that the congressional budget resolution he is drafting for debate later this month will provide Bush’s request for a $49 billion boost in the core Pentagon budget.