SmallGovTimes.comGates requests $189 billion in war funding By: SGT News | Published on 09/26/07 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has asked Congress to appropriate $189 billion in funding to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is scheduled to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee today over the request. The original funding estimate earlier in the year cited nearly $50 billion less in spending on the wars, although Congress was warned that the estimate would probably need revising. "I know that Iraq and other difficult choices America faces in the war on terror will continue to be a source of friction within the Congress, between the Congress and the president and in the wider public debate," Gates is expected to say in front of the Appropriations Committee. "Considering this, I would like to close with a word about something I know we can all agree on — the honor, courage and great sense of duty we have witnessed in our troops since September 11th." The requested money is earmarked to provide resources for equipment and repairs, along with training for local Iraqi forces and new ways to protect those forces from deadly roadside bombs and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Monday begins the federal government's new fiscal year. Original URL: http://www.smallgovtimes.com/story/07sep26.billions.wars/index.html |