[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23496]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    PUTTING $87 BILLION INTO CONTEXT

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, my remarks will not be lengthy, but I 
entitle them as follows: ``Putting $87 Billion Into Context.''
  The Senate will soon consider the President's request for an 
additional $87 billion to fund the U.S. occupation of Iraq and 
Afghanistan and to aid in their reconstruction.
  The $87 billion supplemental brings to a total of $194 billion the 
amount the United States is spending in Iraq and Afghanistan. Let me 
repeat that. The $87 billion supplemental brings to $194 billion the 
amount the United States is spending in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 
twice what the administration had led the public to believe just a few 
months ago.
  The 1991 Persian Gulf war, by contrast, cost $61 billion, of which 
the United States paid only $7 billion. That is $7 billion spent in 
1991 compared to $194 billion today, almost 28 times higher.
  The Bush administration's $87 billion supplemental request is the 
largest emergency spending request since 1977. The $87 billion request, 
just for Iraq and Afghanistan, just for next year, roughly equals, in 
current dollars, the total amount of money spent to rebuild the entire 
continent of Europe after World War II. The request is larger than the 
$74 billion the Defense Department plans to spend on all new weapons 
purchases next year. The request is more than twice the 
administration's entire $35 billion homeland security budget for next 
year. That means that for every $2 spent on the President's 
supplemental request for Iraq, the administration will spend less than 
$1 on homeland security here at home.
  The $20 billion the President is seeking for Iraq's reconstruction is 
$2 billion more than we are spending for foreign assistance for every 
other nation on the planet. The $87 billion request is 50 percent more 
than we spend on education for the entire United States. Let me say 
that again. The $87 billion request is 50 percent more than we spend on 
education for the entire Nation.
  With $194 billion spent or requested, the President's war spending in 
2003 and 2004 already exceeds the inflation-adjusted cost of the 
Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the 
Spanish-American War, and the Persian Gulf war combined. The cost of 
the war and postwar occupation of Iraq will soon surpass the $196 
billion inflation-adjusted cost of World War I. The monthly bill for 
the United States military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan now rivals 
spending during the Vietnam war.
  At $87 billion, the President's request is larger than the economies 
of 166 countries. It is larger than the individual economies of almost 
half the States of the Union. That is a lot of money.
  If approved, the President's request would increase the Federal 
budget deficit for fiscal year 2004 to $535 billion; in other words, 
more than half a trillion dollars. I will say that once more. If 
approved, the President's request would increase the Federal budget 
deficit for fiscal year 2004 to $535 billion. The White House is now in 
danger of violating its own self-imposed limit for budget deficits, 6 
percent of gross domestic product or $600 billion.
  The administration hopes it will receive an additional $30 billion to 
$55 billion from other countries and Iraqi oil revenue over the next 2 
years, but that money may never materialize. Iraqi oil production is 1 
million barrels per day less than before the war. The oil 
infrastructure has been hobbled by severe looting and sabotage. Certain 
pipelines have been struck by a series of attacks since the United 
Nations lifted sanctions this summer. Iraq's oil revenues are likely to 
fall short of even the most modest expectations of this administration.
  As for the tens of billions of dollars the Bush administration is 
hoping to receive from other countries and international financial 
institutions, President Bush's request has fallen on deaf ears. The 
Bush administration has alienated most of the international community. 
After the Presidential swallowing of pride and having asked the United 
Nations for help, the Washington Post summed up the President's 
fundraising efforts with the headline, ``Bush Fails To Gain Pledges On 
Troops Or Funds For Iraq.''
  Increasingly, it appears as if we are on our own in financing the 
occupation and the reconstruction of Iraq. I urge my colleagues to 
exercise patience before approving this request. This is not just an 
ordinary supplemental bill. This is not just a token amount of money. 
It is the beginning of a major commitment of resources in behalf of the 
American taxpayer. Before we act, we should make sure that taxpayers 
understand the size and consequences of this request and what will be 
asked of them in paying for it.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sununu). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sununu). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time for 
the quorum call, which will be shortly announced, be charged equally to 
both sides.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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