By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration asked the U.S. Congress on Wednesday for $87.6 billion in additional funding, most of it related to the Iran war, setting the stage for another fight with lawmakers already frustrated with the conflict.
The supplemental funding request, posted on the White House website and transmitted to Congress, includes $67.15 billion for the military, in addition to some $1 trillion appropriated last year and another $1.5 trillion Trump wants for next year.
The White House said the latest funding request is to cover operational costs of the Iran war, including for military personnel and readiness, operational costs to rebuild weapons stocks, and classified programs.
The funding request for the military includes $21 billion to procure munitions, strengthen the U.S. industrial base and support critical capabilities.
SENATE JOINS HOUSE IN VOTE TO HALT IRAN WAR
The U.S. Senate passed a war powers resolution on Tuesday directing Trump to halt military action against Iran, weeks after the measure passed the House, as a handful of Trump’s fellow Republicans in both chambers joined almost every Democrat in a rebuke to Trump.
During a lunch at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Trump got into a shouting match over the war with Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisana, one of the Republicans who voted in favor of the resolution.
The supplemental request immediately met resistance. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have complained since the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28 that Trump and his team have not kept them informed about the conflict or his plans.
Additionally, lawmakers have noted that the U.S. Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the right to send troops into war, and accuse Trump of disregarding that separation of powers.
TOUGH VOTE FOR REPUBLICANS AS MIDTERMS LOOM
Republicans could face a difficult vote for the request, given the war’s deep unpopularity and only months remaining until midterm elections in November that will determine whether they retain control of Congress.
Democrats also accuse Trump of ignoring the needs of Americans who have been grappling with a steep rise in fuel and food prices since the fighting began. “We should be lowering costs for the American people, not writing another blank check for Trump,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer posted on X after Congress received the request.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the chamber’s appropriations committee, said she would review the request to ensure that servicemembers are taken care of, “but I will not rubber-stamp tens of billions more for this disastrous war of choice.”
Trump’s Republicans hold such slim margins in the House and Senate that appropriations bills typically need Democratic support to pass.
The supplemental budget request also includes some $1.4 billion to address the Ebola outbreak in Africa, including $800 million in international humanitarian assistance and $500 million for global health security to prevent, detect and respond to the outbreak.
“This funding is critical to protect Americans, and stop the spread to the United States,” the White House said.
The administration made steep cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development and to African public health efforts prior to the outbreak.
The spending request is also seeking $11.1 billion to support U.S. farmers and $1 billion to boost the pensions of workers at former General Motors auto parts unit Delphi, which were cut during the Detroit automaker’s 2009 bankruptcy restructuring.
The White House is also asking for $500 million to support construction projects in and around Washington and $1 billion to assist reconstructing New York’s Penn Station.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by David Shepardson, Ismail Shakil and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
Comments