After approving 87.5 billion Congress must follow the money. As the war in Iraq continues and the 2004 presidential election approaches, President Bush now has his 87.5 billion for military operations and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House voted 298 to 121 earlier this month; the Senate with only a handful of Senators present approved it by voice vote Monday. The voice vote was cover for politically conflicted Senators who could mumble their vote or skip it all together.
It was a clear political victory for Bush, but it did not come cheap. This money is on top of the 62.4 billion Congress approved last April to fund the war. Given the government's deepening deficits this war and the reconstruction will be done largely with borrowed money and the donors conference in Madrid showed that for the most part, the United States will be paying for this alone using U.S. tax payers' money. Much of the money pledged there was in the form of loans to the United States.
Bush staved off efforts to convert into loans to Iraq for some or all of the 18.6 billion earmarked for their health care, power, water, and sewage projects and the training of the securing forces. The loans would not only have been wrong since there is no sovereign Iraqi Government to agree to the terms but the rest of the World would have seen it as a way for the U.S. to get first dibs on Iraqi oil. Now Congress has the responsibility to see the funds are effectively and honestly spent. There have been charges of political favoritism in the awarding of contracts, price gauging and waste. These charges may or may not amount to anything but it is up to Congress to find out. The White House and the Republican Congress must also withstand the election year temptation to try to make Iraq permently appear a success by scaling back on troops and aid. Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld got no political points for saying so but it will be a long hard slog.
Paul Bremer the Chief U.S. Administrator in Iraq told Congress the Administration would not be coming back for more money, but said the Administration would do it as part of the regular 2005 budget process. That sounds like a long way off but the White House is already drawing up the 2005 budget and it will be submitted to Congress early February and you know they will be coming back.
