Facts

Approving more cash for the war in Iraq is usually a bi-yearly event; Congress normally okays money for the the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as part of its yearly budget and then passes a second "supplemental" or "emergency" spending bill to top off the rest of the wars' spending needs.

The last infusion of cash for the wars came in December 2007, when Congress approved $70 billion as part of '08s budget. The administration is now asking for about $175 billion to top off '08s war bills and start paying for '08; in spite of minor political tussling in the House, Congress will likely okay the additional funding before summer '08. (WP)

The total costs of war. With differing dollar amounts on the costs of Iraq bandied about by politicians and the press, it's not always easy to keep track of how much we're spending. To help clear the haze, citizenJoe offers a breakdown of numbers from, GlobalSecurity.org, the National Priorities Project, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, Congressional Budget Office (pdf), Congressional Research Service (pdf) and the Council on Foreign Relations. Sorry to say, they don't always add up, but they're generally in the same sports complex, if not ballpark.

• How much money Congress has approved so far for:

  • Iraq: $500-$543 billion. That includes:

    • $123-128 billion Congress approved in 2003,

    • $21 - 25 billion in tide-over funds approved in 2004,

    • $70 billion from funds approved in May 2005 (we're not including the $5 billion that went to "transforming" the military); (WP)

    • $50 billion (about) approved in December 2005 as part of the 2006 defense budget bill,

    • A ballpark figure of $60 billion in June 2006. Military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan received $66 billion together - but cJ couldn't find a break-down of how much went to each.

    • Another ballpark number of $60 billion in September 2006 (again, the papers reported $70 for the combined wars). (WP)

    • Yet again, the papers report a $100 billion funding bill for the combined wars in May, 2007. We'll call it $90 billion for Iraq. (WP)

    • Congress added $70 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan onto the '08 budget (in December '07. We'll say $60 billion for Iraq. (WP)

    • Note: A February, 2008 CRS report (pdf) estimates a total of $526 billion has been appropriated for the Iraq war.

  • Afghanistan: To be frank, we lost track. Luckily, the CRS didn't: in February 2008 they estimated that the Afghanistan war and related counterterrorism missions have cost $140 billion. (CRS - pdf)

• The next infusion of cash:

  • Congress is close to passing a bill that would set aside about $165 billion to cover the wars' costs for rest of '08 and start paying into '09. That bill could pass in June '08, and it's likely to include billions of add-ons in domestic spending - for GI education, unemployment relief, and other goodies. (WP, WP, NYT, WP, WP, WP)
    

• How much a year (again from CRS - pdf):

  • $53 billion in 2003

  • $76 billion in 2004

  • $85 billion in 2005

  • $102 billion in 2006

  • $133 billion in 2007

Updated June 23, 2008

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