Most of the attention focused on the Iraq emergency supplemental funding bill has concerned the immense amount of pork larded into the bill by Democrats in the House. President Bush asked for $105 billion to feed, clothe and arm U.S. troops in Iraq.
Democrats have added more than $20 billion in pork barrel spending for such military essentials as peanut storage, aid to spinach farmers and assistance to farmers hurt by the decline of salmon in the Northwest.
But there is another angle to the issue and that is what the Democrats have taken out of the Bush request. During a briefing today for bloggers on Capitol Hill, a senior administration official estimated that more than $200 million in requested funding has been removed by Democrats for programs that are critical to achieving a political settlement in Iraq.
Most of the funds would go to the additional combined civilian and military reconstruction teams Bush wants to send to Iraq to help improve the Iraqi government’s ability to deliver services to its citizens. Also cut were funds for the administration’s Rule of Law initiative that provides expertise to train the Iraqi government in democratic process, assuring equal justice and other aspects of good government.
The senior administration official noted that the very Democrats who have long been advocating a political settlement rather than amilitary conclusion are now taking out money needed to pay for programs designed to help bring about the conclusion they seek:
“The Democrats have been saying we need a political settlement in Iraq but then they tie our hands with these budget cuts,” the senior administration official said.
Asked what will happen if Bush vetoes the Iraq supplemental, the senior administration official said the Pentagon can continue operations in Iraq for some period of time, but not for long.
“The Pentagon does have some flexibility to move funding around from accounts like training, procurement, but they need the money in the supplemental sooner rather than later. I can assure you that if this bill is vetoed, we will be discussing our options,” the senior administration official said.
The background briefing for bloggers was hosted by The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Media and Public Policy. Such briefings have long been routine for mainstream media journalists covering the White House, but the Bush administration is the first to reach out to bloggers in this fashion.
