Iraq War Spending

July 2007 Senate Votes on Iraq War Amendments

Jeff Leys — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:33:07 -0500

Resource Description

On July 11, 2007, the U.S. Senate took a series of votes on various measures related to the war in Iraq.

Download PDF version of vote tally and text of the amendments.

Download Word version of vote tally and text of the amendments.

The amendments included:

an attempt to require that U.S. Armed Forces returning from Iraq be permitted to be at their home base for at least as long as the length of their tour in Iraq before being deployed back to Iraq.
an attempt to limit the length of the deployment of Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve units in Iraq to 12 months and of Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve units to 7 months in Iraq.
a measure to require a report to Congress on the involvement of Iran in Iraq.
a measure that would state that Armed Forces returning from Iraq SHOULD be allowed a minimum of 12 months at home before being deployed back to Iraq, but it did not require that 12 months elapse before being deployed back to Iraq.

Short Information Teaser

Tally and text of Senate votes on four amendments regarding the Iraq war.

Project

The Occupation Project

Excerpt

On July 11, 2007, the U.S. Senate took a series of votes on various measures related to the war in Iraq.

Download PDF version of vote tally and text of the amendments.

Download Word version of vote tally and text of the amendments.

The amendments included:

an attempt to require that U.S. Armed Forces returning from Iraq be permitted to be at their home base for at least as long as the length of their tour in Iraq before being deployed back to Iraq.
an attempt to limit the length of the deployment of Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve units in Iraq to 12 months and of Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve units to 7 months in Iraq.
a measure to require a report to Congress on the involvement of Iran in Iraq.
a measure that would state that Armed Forces returning from Iraq SHOULD be allowed a minimum of 12 months at home before being deployed back to Iraq, but it did not require that 12 months elapse before being deployed back to Iraq.

Resource: House and Senate Voting Records on War Funding

voices — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:22:30 -0500

Resource Description

House Voting Records

A table that tracks the key votes taken in the House between March 2007 and May 2007 on the Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental spending bill. A quick explanation of the votes precedes the table. You can search by State or by representative name. The three most significant votes for determining legislative strategy are the vote on H.R. 1591, the vote on H.R. 2237 McGovern Bill and the vote on H.R. 2206 Final.

>> View House Voting Records

Senate Voting Records

This table tracks the votes taken in the Senate between March 2007 and May 2007 on the Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental spending bill. A quick explanation of the votes precede the table. You can search by State or by representative name.

>> View Senate Voting Records

Short Information Teaser

House and Senate Voting Records - tables tracking key votes on funding of the U.S. war in Iraq

Project

The Occupation Project

Excerpt

House Voting Records

>> View House Voting Records

Senate Voting Records

>> View Senate Voting Records

Iraq - Afghanistan War Spending: Legislative Update: Oct 7, 2007

Jeff Leys — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 16:06:56 -0500

Resource Description

By Jeff Leys

October 7, 2007
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Congress will likely act before the end of October on at least a portion of the $192 billion that President Bush is seeking to fund the Iraq - Afghanistan war for Fiscal Year 2008 (which runs from October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008). Legal and extralegal (civil disobedience / civil resistance) lobbying should take place between now and the end of October.

You can find out who your Representative and Senators are at the website Congress.org, along with phone numbers and contact information.

Following is a likely legislative timeline that Congress may follow.

Defense Authorization and Defense Appropriations Bill Pass House and Senate

On October 1, the Senate passed the Defense Authorization bill. This bill is a policy bill which lays out programs that the Department of Defense is authorized to carry out and also contains a suggested funding amount. However, it does not actually give the Defense Department the legal ability to spend funds in the U.S. treasury. That requires an appropriations bill. So, even though the Senate Defense Authorization bill sets a suggested funding level of about $150 billion to fund the Iraq - Afghanistan war during FY 2008, that money is not yet actually appropriated.

On October 3, the Senate-on a voice vote-passed the Defense Appropriations bill for FY 2008. This is the bill that gives the Defense Department the legal ability to actually spend money out of the U.S. treasury.

The House previously passed its versions of the Defense Authorization and Defense Appropriations Bill in the summer.

Neither the House nor the Senate version of the Defense Appropriations bill contains funding for the Iraq - Afghanistan war.

Continuing Resolution and MRAP Program

Both the House and the Senate did pass a Continuing Resolution near the end of September. A continuing resolution is passed when regular appropriations bills have not yet passed Congress or been signed into law. The continuing resolution allows government agencies to continue to spend money to operate at the levels at which they operated during the previous year, in order to avoid a shut down of the federal government. Thus, this particular Continuing Resolution did allow for continued spending on the Iraq - Afghanistan war at an average expenditure rate of about $5.8 billion per month (while also permitting the Department of Defense to draw upon other funds in its regular baseline military budget to fund the war until the full Iraq - Afghanistan war spending request is acted upon by Congress).

Congress appropriated an additional $5.2 billion for the procurement of Mine Resistant Ambush Protect (MRAP) vehicles in the continuing resolution. In so doing, it fulfilled the spending request which President Bush submitted to Congress at the end of July.

Conference Committee and Possible Bridge Fund for the Iraq - Afghanistan War OR Another Continuing Resolution

Congress may choose one of two routes to continue funding the Iraq - Afghanistan war. It may pass a new continuing resolution to continue funding the war. Or it may attach a bridge fund to the Defense Appropriations bill to fund the war. Either way, there likely will be precious little notice to the public of war funding that is being voted upon by Congress, which makes legal and extra-legal lobbying so important at this time.

A conference committee, made up of Representatives and Senators, must now resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions of the Defense Appropriations bill.

The final vote on the Defense Appropriations bill-which may include some Iraq - Afghanistan war funding-will likely be voted upon in both the House and Senate sometime between October 15 and November 2. The Senate is in recess from October 8 through October 15 and the House plans to adjourn by November 8.

John Murtha, Chair of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, has indicated that he may add a “bridge” fund to the Defense Appropriations bill (as reported by Megan Scully in the October 2, 2007 edition of Congress Daily). This bridge fund would appropriate funds for the military to wage the Iraq - Afghanistan war, probably through the spring of 2008. Such a bridge fund was included a year ago, to the tune of $70 billion, to wage the Iraq - Afghanistan war.

It is very unlikely that there will be much-if any-public awareness of a bridge fund being attached to the final version of the Defense Appropriations bill that will be voted upon by both the House and Senate. For example, this past May the final version of the Iraq - Afghanistan war supplemental was not publicly available until about 5:30 a.m. on the morning that the vote took place.

Thus, pressure must be exerted now upon Representatives and Senators to oppose any additional funding for the Iraq - Afghanistan war. This includes a commitment to vote against the Defense Appropriations Bill if the final version contains any funding for the war.

Iraq - Afghanistan War Supplemental Vote in Early 2008

Sometime in early 2008, Congress will take up an Iraq - Afghanistan war supplemental to provide funding through the end of the fiscal year (September 30, 2008).

Dave Obey, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, indicated on October 2 he will not send any Iraq - Afghanistan war supplemental to the floor of the House for a vote prior to the end of the year if it does not:

Establish as a goal the end of U.S. involvement in combat operations by January of 2009.
Ensure that troops would have adequate time at home between deployments as outlined in the Murtha and Webb amendments.
Demonstrate a determination to engage in an intensive, broad scale diplomatic offensive involving other countries in the region.

Obey continued his statement, “As Chairman of the Appropriations Committee I have absolutely no intention of reporting out of Committee anytime in this session of Congress any such request that simply serves to continue the status quo.”

Now for the finer points of Obey’s statement. His commitment is specifically tied to THIS SESSION of Congress, which has a targeted adjournment date of October 26, though it is possible the House could stay in session beyond this date. Obey’s statement very concretely DOES NOT refer to what he may or may not do once the Second Session of the 110th Congress begins in January.

Also, the first two conditions of ending combat operations by January 2009 and of guarantees of rest and readiness for troops deploying to Iraq are not substantively different from the conditions included in the original version of the Iraq - Afghanistan war supplemental passed earlier this year but vetoed by Bush. While ending U.S. combat operations in Iraq by January 2009 would be a significant change in current U.S. policy, we should be pushing for the immediate end to combat operations with the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq and with full U.S. funding for the reconstruction of Iraq.

Iraq - Afghanistan War Funding for Fiscal Year 2009

On February 4, 2008 President Bush will submit his budget proposal to Congress for FY 2009 (which runs from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009). Initial indications, according the website DefenseInsider, are that the military is preparing a budget request in the range of $150 to $200 billion. Initial budget requests from each branch of the military were to be submitted to the DOD comptroller by September 14 of this year. Most probably, this funding request will be debated in the fall of 2008 and be used as an election wedge issue by both the Democrats and Republicans.

Short Information Teaser

Legislative update on status of Iraq - Afghanistan War Spending

Project

The Occupation Project

Excerpt

By Jeff Leys

October 7, 2007
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You can find out who your Representative and Senators are at the website Congress.org, along with phone numbers and contact information.

Following is a likely legislative timeline that Congress may follow.

Senate Appropriations Supplemental Bill Mark Up May 2009

Jeff Leys — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:08:12 -0500

Excerpt

This is the Senate Appropriations Committee summary of the Senate’s version of the 2009 supplemental spending bill.

Download Summary

Body

This is the Senate Appropriations Committee summary of the Senate’s version of the 2009 supplemental spending bill.

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President Obama's War Budget: Analyzing the Numbers

Jeff Leys — Sun, 10 May 2009 00:20:58 -0500

Short Information Teaser

Congress will soon vote on additional funding for the Iraq - Afghanistan war. This analysis examines total war spending for 2009.

Excerpt

May 4, 2009

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President Obama’s 2009 supplemental spending request to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is currently before Congress. The House Appropriations Committee will “mark up” (finalize its version) of a war funding bill at a committee hearing on May 7th. The full House will likely vote on the bill the following week. The objective is to have the bill finalized and to Obama for signature by Memorial Day.

President Obama is seeking an additional $75.8 billion in war funds for this fiscal year. It is possible that Congress will add to this amount before final passage. If Congress enacts Obama’s request, total war spending will come to $144.6 billion for Fiscal Year 2009 (which ends on September 30, with Fiscal Year 2010 beginning on October 1). This compares to the $186 billion war spending in 2008. Obama’s proposed war budget for 2010 is $130 billion.

Body

May 4, 2009

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At first glance, it is easy to conclude that the proposed 22 percent reduction in war spending from 2008 to 2009 represents a significant shift in war strategy and is indicative of a drawing down of the twin wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sadly, such a conclusion would be wrong.

What follows is a discussion of the three main components of the war budget: Personnel costs; Operation & Maintenance costs; and Procurement costs. This discussion is based upon data and material produced by the Department of Defense Comptroller; the Congressional Research Service; the budget justification materials of the branches of the military; and the Fiscal Year 2009 Bridge Fund appropriations passed by Congress last June. (Please see the end of this article for the source material used in preparing this analysis).

This discussion includes total war funding for 2009, including both that amount appropriated by the Democrat-controlled Congress last June and the amount being requested by Obama in the currently pending supplemental spending request. It should be noted that the war funds approved by Congress last year were contained in the bill crafted by the Democratic Party leadership.

It should also be noted that while funding levels are reduced from 2008 to 2009, in each of the three categories, President Obama is in fact seeking new funding to the tune of $75.8 billion. That said, Personnel costs are reduced by $1.7 billion in 2009. Operation & Maintenance costs are reduced by $1.9 billion. Procurement costs are reduced by $37 billion. Even so, a closer look at the numbers behind the numbers reveals that the reductions are not as significant as they may appear to be at first glance.

PERSONNEL COSTS:

Personnel costs will decline by $1.8 billion in 2009. The Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps will all reduce personnel costs. A portion of these cost reductions will be offset by small increases in Personnel costs for the Navy as well as for the Marine Corps Reserve and for the Reserve and National Guard components of the Army and Air Force.

The Army’s personnel costs will drop by $2 billion, declining from $13 billion in 2008 to $11 billion in 2009. While this is a 15 percent decline, it also illustrates that all is not as it seems when reviewing top line budget numbers.

Two significant factors account for nearly all the reduction in the Army’s personnel costs, neither of which is related to the Iraq and Afghanistan war effort. “Active Overstrength” costs are reduced by $1.4 billion and “Recruiting and Retention” costs are reduced by $0.8 billion.

“Active Overstrength” refers to the number of soldiers in the Army over-and-above the number provided for by Congress in the regular baseline Department of Defense budget. In 2008, Active Overstrength consisted of 43,632 soldiers. This declines to 15,658 soldiers in 2009. All this means—and all the $1.4 billion reduction in associated costs means—is that the soldiers’ pay of 27,974 soldiers is now included in the baseline budget of the Army rather than being included in the supplemental spending bills.

Meanwhile, personnel costs for the Army Reserve and Army National Guard increase by $1.1 billion in 2009, reflecting the increased number of Reserve and Guard units being deployed to one of the two wars.

The Army’s reduction in “Recruitment and Retention” costs is perhaps best explained by the current economic depression and the lack of other job opportunities.

OPERATION & MAINTENANCE

Operation & Maintenance funds decline by $1.9 billion in 2009 (down to $91.6 billion compared to $93.5 billion in 2008). This category contains funds for U.S. military operations. It also contains funds for the training and development of the military and police forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. As fate should have it, it’s a decline in funding for Iraq’s military and police forces that results in the cost reduction in 2009.

Of the U.S. military services, only the Air Force receives a slight increase in Operation & Maintenance funding this year, increasing by $0.5 billion. The Army’s O&M budget is reduced by $1 billion; the Army National Guard by $0.5 billion; the Navy by $0.8 billion; and the Marine Corps by $0.1 billion. The Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard together will receive $0.4 billion less in O & M funds (thus offsetting the slight increase in the Air Force budget).

Notably, funding for “Operation and Maintenance – Defense Wide” increases by $2.5 billion in 2009 (up to $8.3 billion from the $5.8 billion n 2008). Funding for the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is included in this category, as is funding for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). If Obama’s supplemental spending request is approved by Congress, total funding for SOCOM will be $2.4 billion in 2009 and for the DSCA, $1.7 billion.

Overall, the Operation & Maintenance funding for U.S. military forces comes out essentially the same this year—$84.2 billion in 2009 compared to $84 billion in 2008.

The cost savings in the overall Operation & Maintenance budget is to be found in those funds designated for the development and training of Iraq’s military and police forces. President Obama seeks no additional funds for the Iraq Security Forces Fund and only an additional $415 million for the Iraq Freedom Fund. In 2009, funding for the Iraq Security Forces Fund is cut by $2 billion and for the Iraq Freedom Fund by $3.4 billion—for a total cut in funding of $5.4 billion.

Resources are shifted to the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund, which will be increased by $2.9 billion (to a total of $5.6 billion in 2009). An entirely new Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund is created with Obama’s supplemental and will initially be funded with $400 million for this fiscal year (which notably ends on September 30). Spending on the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund and the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund account for a $3.3 billion increase in war funds.

So what is left after all of the cost shifts discussed above? The U.S. will spend $84.2 billion on the Operation & Maintenance budget of its own military in 2009—essentially the same as the $84 billion spent in 2008. This compares to the $75 billion spent in 2007; the $60 billion spent in 2006; and the $48 billion spent in 2005. The Operation and Maintenance numbers in Obama’s war budget do not provide significant evidence of a significant shift in the overall strategy for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

PROCUREMENT

Procurement funding drops by $36.9 billion in 2009—from $64.9 billion in 2008 to $28 billion in 2009. Yet it would be inaccurate to conclude that this 57 percent reduction in procurement funding represents a truly significant shift in funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The $28 billion funding level still remains well above the $22.9 billion appropriated in 2006 and the $18 billion appropriated in 2005. Indeed, of the $28 billion in total 2009 funding, $21.9 billion is contained within the supplemental spending request submitted by Obama—in and of itself still above funding levels in 2005 and on a par with 2006.

Significantly, the year 2006 provides one explanation for the reduction in procurement funds in 2009 when compared to 2008 and 2007. In October 2006, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England greatly expanded the parameters on the type of procurement spending that could be included in emergency supplemental spending requests. Prior to October 2006, the DOD financial regulations aimed to limit requests for supplemental spending requests to only cover the incremental costs of the two wars. In simple form, this meant that if a Stryker fighting vehicle is destroyed in Iraq then the Army could request a new Stryker as a replacement. The Air Force could replace Joint Direct Attack Munitions expended in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Used ammunition could be replenished. Yet even with this limitation in place, the Congressional Research Service and others questioned whether many of the items acquired by the military through the supplemental process were indeed incremental costs of war to replace lost equipment – or whether at least some portion of the procurement monies was being used to upgrade existing equipment previously scheduled for upgrade, to acquire new equipment for the new modular structure of the Army, and to buy next generation weapons systems (each of which should have been funded through the regular baseline Department of Defense budget).

In October 2006, England directed the military to submit spending requests to not only cover the incremental costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also to include any new costs attributed to the so-called “long war on terror”.

Procurement appropriations exploded, jumping from $22.9 billion in 2006 (the fiscal year immediately prior to England’s directive) to $45.4 billion in 2007 (the first fiscal year under the new directive), and then to $64.9 billion in 2008.

Thus, it is likely that the reduction in Procurement monies to be appropriated in 2009 simply reflects a reversal of England’s directive, with a shift back to a more normative budgetary process which seeks to limit new “emergency” procurement requests to those incremental costs directly related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, rather than being reflective of significant shifts in the direction of the overall war strategy.

It is also possible that the reduction in procurement monies in 2009 reflects that previously appropriated procurement funds still remain available to be spent. Normally when Congress appropriates funds, those funds must be spent in that fiscal year or be lost. However, procurement monies remain available to be spent for up to three years after being appropriated by Congress. This often results in procurement funds being carried over from one fiscal year to the next. According to the Congressional Research Service, as of October 1, 2007, the Department of Defense carried over $45 billion in war justified procurement appropriations into the new fiscal year.

The sharp reduction in procurement funds in 2009 may also be a result of the prior front-loading of procurement requests by the military. That is to say, in 2007 and 2008 the Department of Defense may well have requested surplus procurement funds as a buffer against future reductions in procurement funds. The Congressional Research Service notes that: “The FY 2007 and FY 2008 war requests both appear to include an extra year of Army and Marine Corps reset requirements. According to statements by Army Chief of Staff, General Peter J. Shoomaker and other military spokesman, Army reset is estimated to be $12 billion to $13 billion a year as long as the conflict lasts at the current level and ‘for a minimum of two to three years beyond’”.

With the passage of Obama’s war supplemental, the Army will be slated to receive a total of $13.5 billion in procurement funds in 2009—essentially what General Shoomaker projected. So again, the question arises: does President Obama’s war budget for 2009 reflect a potentially significant shift in war strategy or does it merely reflect a return to a more normative budget pattern?

Last, as regards procurement, it ought to be noted that fully one-third of the reduction in 2009 Procurement funds will be the result of a $12.4 billion reduction in funding for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. In 2008, Congress appropriated $16.8 billion to rapidly acquire and deploy MRAPs for use in Iraq. In 2009, the $4.4 billion is included in total spending for a new version of MRAPs to be designed and produced for use in the different terrain and environment of Afghanistan.

THE AFGHANISTAN – PAKISTAN WAR

Obama’s 2009 war budget sheds light on the expansion of the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. While overly broad conclusions perhaps should not be drawn from the available data, the trends are indeed troubling.

In its summary “Fiscal Year 2009 Supplemental Request” the Department of Defense states that funding for the Afghanistan war will increase to $46.9 billion in 2009, a 31 percent increase over the $35.9 billion in 2008 and the $32.6 billion in 2007.

This $11.3 billion increase includes an additional $2.8 billion for the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund; $400 million for the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund; and $4.4 billion for MRAPs designed for use in Afghanistan. Increased troop levels will also account for a portion of the increase.

Military construction projects in Afghanistan are expanded under Obama’s war budget. In the 2009 supplemental now before Congress, Obama seeks an additional $620 million to fund Army construction projects and $240 million to fund Air Force construction projects. The Army projects include construction and upgrade of air facilities at various bases to accommodate the CH-47 Chinook helicopters and to construct additional troop housing to accommodate the increased troop levels.

The supplemental spending request also points towards the increased use of the MQ – 1 Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper drones in the war. Obama seeks $57.4 million to acquire 742 Predator Hellfire missiles and $196 million for ten new MQ-9 Reapers.

Funding is included to upgrade the MQ-1 and MQ-9 systems in order that a second remote split operations site can be established to control the drones. This second site is necessary since the current site is reaching its operational capacity for the control of the increasing drone flights. As noted in the justification materials submitted by the Air Force: “Both Predator and MQ-9 Reaper conduct their missions through ‘Remote Split Operations’ whereby a minimum number of operators and maintenance personnel are deployed forward for launch and recovery of the aircraft. After launch, the aircraft is ‘handed-off’ to CONUS-based mission crews for actual mission prosecution. For this mode of operations, the command and control and full motion video (FMV) is currently relayed through a single forward communications site. This site is nearing capacity with the current increase in Predator operational tempo…This project procures satellite terminals and video dissemination equipment to establish a second remote split operations relay site.”

WHAT THE FUTURE MAY HOLD

President Obama is seeking $130 billion to fund the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in his budget request for 2010. This is a mere $14 billion less than overall funding in 2009. It won’t be possible to determine the direction Obama seeks to take war funding until the Department of Defense releases its justification materials to lay out how this $130 billion will be spent.

Yet the reality that Obama’s Fiscal Year 2010 request is only $14 billion less than the 2009 war budget is not at all encouraging. Quite likely some minor reductions will take place in the Personnel costs of the budget, as the remaining Army Overstrength numbers are absorbed into the baseline military budget and as, perhaps, fewer National Guard and Reserve units are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Perhaps some small reductions will take place within the Operation & Maintenance budget as brigade combat teams are withdrawn from Iraq, though savings may well be eaten up by increases in the O & M costs in Afghanistan as a troop buildup continues and military operations potentially intensify. Procurement costs may be slightly reduced, though that may simply indicate a shift of procurement funds into the baseline military budget of the Department of Defense.

All of which is to say that our work to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is really only just beginning anew. We should not allow ourselves to be deceived into believing that a shift in war strategy and policy is underway simply because of a reduction in appropriations for the war. The top dollar line is itself deceiving.

SOURCE MATERIAL:

“The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11” (Updated October 15, 2008), Congressional Research Service. By Amy Belasco (Specialist in U.S. Defense Policy and Budget Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division). Available at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf

U.S. Department of Defense. Fiscal Year 2009 Supplemental Request. Summary Justification Material. April 2009. Available at: http://www.defenselink.mil/comptroller/defbudget/fy2009/Supplemental/FY2009SupplementalRequest/pdfs/FY2009SupplementalRequest04-08-09.pdf

Office of the Secretary of Defense. “Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Supplemental Request. Exhibits for FY 2009. Military Personnel. Operation and Maintenance. Procurement. Research, Development, Test and Evaluation. Military Construction. Revolving and Management Funds” (April 2009). Available at: http://www.defenselink.mil/comptroller/Budget2009.html

Fiscal Year 2009 Justification Materials produced by each branch of the military are available on-line at:

Army, http://www.asafm.army.mil/budget/fybm/fybm.asp#sup

Air Force, http://www.saffm.hq.af.mil/budget/

Navy and Marine Corps, http://www.finance.hq.navy.mil/fmb/09pres/supplemental/FY2009OverseasConOpsSup.pdf

Public Law 110-252 - June 30, 2008. Available at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/toGPObss/http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110congpublic_laws&docid=f:publ252.110.pdf

VCNV Author

Jeff Leys

Iraq - Afghanistan War Supplemental for FY 2008 to Be Voted on Soon -- Questions & Answers -- April 30, 2008

Jeff Leys — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:46:44 -0500

Short Information Teaser

A Question and Answer on the Iraq War Supplemental Before Congress

Excerpt

April 29, 2008

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According to an April 29 article on CQ Politics, the House will likely vote on a new Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental during the week of May 5, with Senator Harry Reid stating that he wants the Senate to vote on the bill prior to Memorial Day.

Details of the supplemental are being closely guarded by the Democratic party leadership. However, the supplemental is based upon President Bush’s request for an additional $108 billion in supplemental funding for the Iraq – Afghanistan war for the current fiscal year (FY 2008, which ends on September 30, 2008). Of this amount, $102 billion will be for the military.

Body

April 29, 2008

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Congress may also appropriate—in the same bill—an additional $70 billion as a “down payment” on funding the war in FY 2009 (which runs from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009). This additional $70 billion would fund the war through at least March 2009 and (depending upon how it is spent and how other Department of Defense funds are utilized) most likely through June 2009.

That would bring the total Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental for military spending to $178 billion (with more no doubt to be appropriated after the next President assumes office in January 2009). And don’t forget that in a series of votes in October, November and December 2007, Congress already appropriated $86.8 billion for the Iraq – Afghanistan war for this fiscal year.

Negotiations to develop the current supplemental spending bill have been taking place behind closed doors between Democratic leadership in the House and the Senate. These negotiations are laying the ground work for a quick vote on the bill once it reaches the floor of the House and the floor of the Senate. These negotiations are also laying the groundwork for the possibility that identical bills may be voted upon in both the House and the Senate, which would eliminate the necessity to create a conference committee (consisting of members of the House and Senate) to craft a final compromise bill.

According to an April 29 report by CQ Politics:

“A senior House aide said that the current plan is to hold three separate votes in the House: one for the war funding, one for domestic items, and one for a series of Iraq-related war policy provisions. These votes, which likely would all be called ‘amendments,’ would then be joined together and sent to the Senate as a package.”

It is quite possible—indeed probable—that the House version will not be publicly available until the morning of the vote. It is also quite possible that the date the vote takes place on Iraq – Afghanistan war spending won’t be known until the night before the vote is scheduled to occur. This means that it will be next to impossible to mobilize significant opposition to the Iraq – Afghanistan war spending bill.

Therefore, it is indeed critical that phone calls begin now to Representatives and Senators to express opposition to any additional funding for the Iraq war—and especially so if the funding does not have concrete, date-certain timetables for complete withdrawal from Iraq with the provision that the funds can only be used for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

CALL CONGRESS TODAY

It is critical that phone calls and lobbying—both legal and extralegal civil disobedience—be on-going at the offices of Representatives and Senators with the message being simple: Vote against any additional funds for the Iraq war.

You can contact your Representative and Senators via the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

You can find out your Representative’s and Senators’ direct contact information by visiting the website of Contacting Congress: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

Following is a “Question and Answer” piece on the status of the Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental as well as two charts that summarize the components of the war spending request.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE IRAQ – AFGHANISTAN WAR SUPPLEMENTAL FOR FY 2008

How much did President Bush request for the Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental?

President Bush requested a total of $189.3 billion in funding for the Iraq – Afghanistan wars in Fiscal Year 2008. This Fiscal Year runs from October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008.

This includes: $17.8 billion for Personnel Costs; $92.5 billion for Operations & Maintenance costs; and $71.6 billion for Procurement costs.

How much has Congress already appropriated for the wars in Fiscal Year 2008?

$86.8 billion is already appropriated by Congress for FY 2008. Funds were appropriated on three occasions. In September, Congress appropriated $5.2 billion in the Continuing Resolution (HR 52). In November, Congress appropriated $11.6 billion and included this amount in the baseline budget for the Department of Defense. In December, Congress appropriated an additional $70 billion as a supplemental included in the Omnibus Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2008.

How much remains to be appropriated for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles in FY 2008?

Congress fully funded the procurement of MRAP vehicles in the Continuing Resolution of September and in the Department of Defense baseline budget of November. It appropriated a total of $16.8 billion for procurement, maintenance and transport of MRAPs. This is the total amount requested by the Bush Administration for FY 2008 for MRAP vehicles.

How much remains to be appropriated of the amount requested by President Bush?

Of the funds requested by President Bush for the military, $102.4 billion remains to be considered by Congress.

This includes: $16.7 billion for Personnel costs; $34.9 billion for Operations & Maintenance costs; and $44.4 billion for Procurement costs.

Will the final Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental be available to the public before the vote in Congress?

Yes, but substantively no. The probability is high that the pattern of prior supplemental spending bills will be followed. Backroom deals will be negotiated by the powers-that-be and a final bill will be posted on the House of Representatives website on the morning of the vote. In May 2007, the final version of the House supplemental spending bill was not posted and available to the public until 6 a.m. on the morning of the vote.

Do funds appropriated by Congress for FY 2008 have to be spent by the military before September 30, 2008?

A Fiscal Year for the federal government begins on October 1 and ends the following September 30.

Funds appropriated for Personnel Costs and for Operations and Maintenance costs must be spent during the fiscal year for which they are appropriated—or, in this case, by September 30, 2008.

However, Procurement funds can be carried over from one year into the next. The military operates on a 3 year procurement cycle. In order to allow for bids to be placed; contracts to be signed; production to be completed and equipment to be delivered, Congress allows money appropriated for procurement to be spent up to three years into the future. Therefore, if Congress ends up approving the full $71.6 billion for procurement originally requested by President Bush, the Department of Defense will have until September 30, 2010 to actually spend the money for procurement. Much of the equipment to be purchased with these funds won’t be delivered to the military until 2009 or 2010.

The purchase of body armor and other protective gear for soldiers is contained within the Operation and Maintenance portion of the budget, a portion of the budget that must be spent by September 30, 2008.

Is President Bush seeking any Iraq – Afghanistan war funds for Fiscal Year 2009?

Yes. President Bush included a $70 billion “placeholder” in his budget for FY 2009 (which runs from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009). This is the same tactic that was used in prior fiscal years when Congress approved “bridge” funds or “reserve” funds for the Iraq – Afghanistan wars which were then contained as separate “supplemental” sections within the baseline Defense appropriations bill.

In testimony before Congress in early February, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates estimated that the total spending request for FY 2009 for the Iraq – Afghanistan wars will be about $170 billion. He stated that this is only a guess and is based solely upon a straight line projection of current year costs into next year.

VCNV Author

Jeff Leys

Assessing House Voting Records on Iraq War Funding - Feb 15, 2008

Jeff Leys — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:25:34 -0600

Short Information Teaser

Assessments of Voting Records of Representatives on Iraq War Funding - Feb 15, 2008

Excerpt

February 15, 2008

Download Full Report as PDF

Congress is now considering President Bush’s request for an additional $102.5 billion in supplemental spending for the Iraq – Afghanistan wars. The central objectives of the antiwar effort must continue to be an end to all funding for the war in Iraq; an end to all military action against Iraq; and the complete and immediate withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from Iraq.

At the same time, it is important to examine the recent voting records of Representatives. An assessment of voting records will assist in developing strategies and tactics to use in lobbying Representatives to bring the Iraq war to an end. These strategies will no doubt include both legal and extralegal (i.e., nonviolent civil disobedience and nonviolent civil resistance) forms of lobbying.

The following assessments should be used as a tool in developing lobbying strategies rather than as the “be all, end all” assessment of Representatives and there are varying degrees of support or opposition to the Iraq war within each grouping that follows.

Download Full Report as PDF

Body

February 15, 2008

Download Full Report as PDF

VCNV Author

Jeff Leys

Project

The Occupation Project

Q & A: Iraq - Afghanistan War Supplemental, Feb 13, 2008

Jeff Leys — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:01:04 -0600

Short Information Teaser

Q & A on the $102 billion war spending request still before Congress. Written Feb 13, 2008.

Excerpt

Download Q & A
PDF file - Q & A with charts
PDF file — charts only

February 14, 2008

Congress will soon begin consideration of an additional $102.4 billion in supplemental funding for the Iraq – Afghanistan wars. On February 13, Representative Jack Murtha (Chair of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee) announced that he intends to produce a final version of the latest 2008 Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental spending bill by the end of February. After this it will be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee and then go to the full floor of the House for a vote. The Senate similarly is beginning to develop its version of the latest war supplemental spending bill.

The House bill will be developed behind closed doors. No hearings are scheduled between now and the end of February to discuss the bill in the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. It is not known when the final war supplemental spending bill will be made available to the public. It may well end up that the final supplemental spending bill is presented as a “fait accompli”—an accomplished act—on the floors of the House and of the Senate only hours before the vote is to take place. In May 2007, the final spending bill was not released to the public until about 6 a.m. on the morning of the vote. In December 2007, the funds for the Iraq war were tucked into a Senate amendment to an omnibus appropriations bill—an amendment available to the public only after it was submitted on the floor of the Senate by Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

It is also highly unlikely that any language on partial troop withdrawal will be included in the supplemental spending bill this time around. Representative Murtha stated that he will recommend the inclusion of some form of withdrawal language in the bill, though stopped short of stating partial withdrawal language will in fact be included in the bill. However, such language was stripped out of the final version of war supplemental spending bills that passed Congress in May 2007 and in December 2007.

Therefore, it is critical that phone calls and lobbying—both legal and extralegal civil disobedience—be on-going at the offices of Representatives and Senators with the message being simple: Vote against any additional funds for the Iraq war.

You can contact your Representative and Senators via the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

You can find out your Representative’s and Senators’ direct contact information by visiting the website of Contacting Congress

Following is a “Question and Answer” piece on the status of the Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental as well as two charts that summarize the components of the war spending request.

Body

Download Q & A
PDF file - Q & A with charts
PDF file — charts only

February 14, 2008

You can contact your Representative and Senators via the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

You can find out your Representative’s and Senators’ direct contact information by visiting the website of Contacting Congress

Following is a “Question and Answer” piece on the status of the Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental as well as two charts that summarize the components of the war spending request.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE IRAQ – AFGHANISTAN WAR SUPPLEMENTAL FOR FY 2008

How much did President Bush request for the Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental?

President Bush requested a total of $189.2 billion in funding for the Iraq – Afghanistan wars in Fiscal Year 2008. This Fiscal Year runs from October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008.

This includes: $17.7 billion for Personnel Costs; $84.3 billion for Operations & Maintenance costs; and $67.2 billion for Procurement costs.

How much has Congress already appropriated for the wars in Fiscal Year 2008?

How much remains to be appropriated for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles in FY 2008?

How much remains to be appropriated of the amount requested by President Bush?

Of the funds requested by President Bush, $102.4 billion remains to be considered by Congress.

This includes: $16.7 billion for Personnel costs; $34 billion for Operations & Maintenance costs; and $44.3 billion for Procurement costs.

When will Congress act upon the remaining $102.4 billion requested by President Bush?

It is not known precisely when Congress will act upon the remaining $102.4 billion of President Bush’s request.

However, Representative Murtha stated that he intends to have a final bill prepared by the end of February. The bill will then go to the full House Appropriations Committee for a vote and, after that, to the full House of Representatives for a vote. In each of the last two years, the House voted on its version of the bill in the week leading up to the start of a two week recess. The recess this year begins on March 15 and ends on March 31.

The Senate must then pass its version of a supplemental spending bill. In each of the past two years, the Senate passed its version between mid-April and the first week of May.

It is possible that a vote on the latest Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental could be delayed in both the House and the Senate until sometime after General Petraeus (Commander of the Multi-National Forces – Iraq) presents a report to Congress in April (expected during the week of April 7).

Will Congress hold hearings on the President’s request for additional Iraq – Afghanistan war funds before crafting legislation to appropriate the funds?

Perhaps. Perhaps not. In the spring of 2007, Representative John Murtha (Chair of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee) held hearings on the Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental spending request. Similar hearings were conducted in the Senate. These were hearings on the President’s request for war appropriations for Fiscal Year 2007 (which ended on September 30, 2007).

However, no such subcommittee hearings were held in the fall of 2007 before Congress appropriated money for the Iraq – Afghanistan wars. Indeed, when Congress appropriated $70 billion for the wars in December 2007, about half of that money was added through an amendment made by Senator Mitch McConnell on the floor of the Senate which was included in the final bill.

Normally, when Congress appropriates money, a conference committee writes a report detailing how the money is to be spent. No such report accompanies the $70 billion appropriated by Congress. Instead, the details are included in documentation submitted by Senator McConnell and inserted into the Congressional Record at the time of the vote.

Will the final Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental be available to the public before the vote in Congress?

Do funds appropriated by Congress for FY 2008 have to be spent by the military before September 30, 2008?

A Fiscal Year for the federal government begins on October 1 and ends the following September 30.

Funds appropriated for Personnel Costs and for Operations and Maintenance costs must be spent during the fiscal year for which they are appropriated—or, in this case, by September 30, 2008.

However, Procurement funds can be carried over from one year into the next. The military operates on a 3 year procurement cycle. In order to allow for bids to be placed; contracts to be signed; production to be completed and equipment to be delivered, Congress allows money appropriated for procurement to be spent up to three years into the future. Therefore, if Congress ends up approving the full $67.2 billion for procurement originally requested by President Bush, the Department of Defense will have until September 30, 2010 to actually spend the money for procurement. Much of the equipment to be purchased with these funds won’t be delivered to the military until 2009 or 2010.

The purchase of body armor and other protective gear for soldiers is contained within the Operation and Maintenance portion of the budget.

Will Congress attempt to attach any loose language on withdrawal to the Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental?

It seems highly unlikely that Congress will attach any loose language on partial troop withdrawal to an Iraq – Afghanistan war supplemental this spring.

Is President Bush seeking any Iraq – Afghanistan war funds for Fiscal Year 2009?

Download charts for Q & A - PDF file

VCNV Author

Jeff Leys

Project

The Occupation Project

Congress Voting on Iraq - Afghanistan War Funding: Take Action

Jeff Leys — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:01:21 -0600

Excerpt

December 17, 2007

Today, December 17, the House of Representatives will take up an Omnibus spending bill to provide funding for all U.S. government agencies and to provide additional war funding. The measure will then go the Senate for consideration.

Please call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 1-202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senators’ offices. Please be sure to talk with BOTH of your Senators.

Please tell your Senators to vote against any amendment to the bill that would add money for the Iraq war in this spending bill.

The House bill, most likely to be voted upon this evening, includes $31 billion in funds for the war in Afghanistan. It specifically states that funds cannot be used for the Iraq war, other than to purchase body armor

The Senate will then take up the omnibus spending measure. Most likely, several Senators will seek to amend the bill to include funding for the Iraq war, bringing the total war spending in the bill to $70 billion for the Iraq – Afghanistan wars.

Then the bill will go back to the House for a vote on the final version of the bill.

Read the House bill

Read the House explanation of its version of the bill.

Body

December 17, 2007

Please call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 1-202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senators’ offices. Please be sure to talk with BOTH of your Senators.

Please tell your Senators to vote against any amendment to the bill that would add money for the Iraq war in this spending bill.

Then the bill will go back to the House for a vote on the final version of the bill.

Read the House bill

Read the House explanation of its version of the bill.

Slip Sliding Away: House Votes on Iraq War Funding Today, November 14

Jeff Leys — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:56:32 -0600

Short Information Teaser

House prepares to vote on new Iraq war spending bill

Excerpt

November 14, 2007

The Democratic Party’s Barbershop Quartet strikes again-caving in marvelous manner on the Iraq war. “You know the nearer your destination, the more you slip sliding away,” sang Simon and Garfunkel.

If ending the Iraq war is our destination, then Pelosi, Obey, Murtha and the Democrats are slip sliding us all further away.

Today, November 14, the House will vote on H.R. 4156-the newest Iraq - Afghanistan war supplemental spending bill. In the finest tradition of democracy, the text of the bill was not publicly available until last night.

Body

November 14, 2007

If ending the Iraq war is our destination, then Pelosi, Obey, Murtha and the Democrats are slip sliding us all further away.

HR 4156 provides $50 billion to wage the Iraq - Afghanistan wars through September 30, 2008. It also moves backwards in setting any form of timetable for an ultimate withdrawal from Iraq. HR 4156 is a definite setback when compared to the war spending bill initially passed by the House in March 2007.

Back then, the Democratic party leadership crafted a plan that required that the redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq begin by March 1, 2008 and be completed within 180 days (end of August 2008). The plan provided that U.S. troops could be left in Iraq for certain purposes, namely protecting the U.S. Embassy and U.S. personnel; training the Iraqi Army; and engaging in counter-terrorist military action. Erik Leaver of the Institute for Policy Studies estimated that these provisions would have left upwards of 40 to 60 thousand U.S. troops in Iraq.

But compare the plan of March 2007 to the plan of December 2007, as laid out in HR 4156.

HR 4156 requires that the redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq begin within 30 days of enactment of the law. That is the only portion of the redeployment language that is mandatory rather than permissive.

Regarding completion of the redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq, HR 4156 states that:

“The goal for the completion of the transition of United States Armed Forces to a limited presence and missions and described in subsection (e) shall be a date that is not later than December 15, 2008.”

So, the Democratic Party leadership in the House shifts its position on redeployment from a MANDATORY completion date of the end of August 2008 to a GOAL completion date of December 15, 2008. The only thing mandatory about the goal date is that it be by December 15, 2008. But, as any labor union negotiator will tell you, a GOAL is permissive and unenforceable absent any language to make it enforceable. And, guess what, there is no enforcement mechanism in HR 4156 if President Bush does not meet the goal of completing redeployment by December 15, 2008.

But that’s only the half of it.

HR 4156 would significantly expand the purposes for which U.S. troops could remain in Iraq when compared to the provisions of the Iraq supplemental passed by the House in March 2007.

In March 2007, the House war spending bill provided that U.S. troops remaining in Iraq after partial redeployment would remain for: “Engaging in targeted special actions limited in duration and scope to killing or capturing members of al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations with global reach.”

Compare that language to the language in the bill the House will vote on today. HR 4156 leaves U.S. troops in Iraq for: “Engaging in targeted counter-terrorism operations against al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda affiliated groups and other terrorist organizations in Iraq.”

Gone from the current bill, HR 4156, is any language stating that the organizations have “global reach.” This is a potentially significant expansion of the role of U.S. troops remaining in Iraq when compared to that perhaps envisioned last March. Under the March 2007 language, it could plausibly have been argued that the Mehdi Army and various Iraqi militias are not “terrorist organizations with global reach” and therefore outside the scope of the mission of the remaining U.S. forces in Iraq. With the elimination of “global reach” from this clause, the Mehdi Army and all other Iraqi militias are fair game for U.S. military action in Iraq (assuming the U.S. makes the argument that any militia outside of Iraq’s standing army is a “terrorist organization”).

Another significant change from March 2007 to the bill being voted upon today is the elimination of the clause “limited in duration and scope”. While that clause was never defined in the prior legislation that passed the House, it would have served to potentially put some limitations on the scale and length of U.S. military operations in Iraq. Absent that clause, no such limitation exists within HR 4156.

So, then, what is to be done?

Immediately, all should call their Representative and urge them to vote against HR 4156. It is a bill that continues the war with no end in sight, with no enforceable timetable for withdrawal, and expands the mission of any U.S. forces which might remain after a partial withdrawal. You can reach your Representative via the Capitol Switchboard, 1-202-224-3121.

Congress will take up additional Iraq - Afghanistan war funding when it returns in January, regardless of what happens with HR 4156-whether it becomes law or not. We must be prepared to use all forms of nonviolent action to bring about an end to the war. This includes legal lobbying. But it also includes extralegal lobbying.

The Occupation Project, coordinated by Voices for Creative Nonviolence (http://www.vcnv.org), will be refocused and re-energized come the turn of the year to focus upon Representatives and Senators who refuse to publicly commit to voting against additional war funding for the Iraq - Afghanistan wars. Over 400 arrests occurred in 2007 at the offices of over 42 Representatives and Senators as part of the Occupation Project campaign. Let’s double, triple or more that number of arrests and our commitment to the use of nonviolent civil disobedience as a form of extralegal lobbying.

And let us press those who would be President to publicly commit to the complete and immediate withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq when they become President of the U.S.-and to publicly commit to opposing any U.S. military action against Iran. Work within the primary and caucus systems is necessary and important. Nonviolent civil resistance during the campaign is necessary as well. Launched last week in Des Moines, Iowa, social justice and anti-war advocates are occupying the campaign offices of Presidential candidates to press for an immediate end to the Iraq war. Dubbed SODaPOP (Seasons of Discontent: A Presidential Occupation Project)(http://www.vcnv.org) the campaign is focused upon Iowa and will expand nationally.

We have a choice to make. We can roll over and play dead and bemoan the betrayal of those who reside in the House, Senate and White House. Or we can reclaim the best of our heritage of struggles for social justice and begin to take the risks commensurate with the risks encountered by Iraqi citizens and U.S. soldiers every day that the war in Iraq continues.

We should lobby Congress legally, by all means. But we should also lobby Congress by all nonviolent means at our disposal-including the extralegal lobbying means of civil disobedience and nonviolent civil resistance.

And we should vote-at the ballot box, in the primaries and in the caucuses. But we should also vote with our lives-in nonviolent civil disobedience and civil resistance to the war that engulfs Iraq and the U.S.

VCNV Author

Jeff Leys