Washington — The Trump administration on Wednesday sent Congress a long-awaited supplemental funding package to help cover the cost of the Iran war.
The administration is asking for about $87.6 billion to address “urgent needs” related to the Iran war, as well as other funding to respond to the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa and provide support for American farmers.
Most of the funding — $67 billion — is for the Pentagon, including $21 billion for munitions, $17.3 billion for operational costs and $12.1 billion for classified programs. It cites $767.5 million needed for the Department of Energy related to the war and Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and $300 million for the State Department for embassy security and construction in countries surrounding Iran.
The request will face an uphill battle and puts vulnerable Republicans in a politically tricky position, since backing it could be seen as support for the unpopular war. It’s all but certain to face stiff opposition from Democrats, putting its passage in the Senate in doubt.
Some Republicans have already supported limiting President Trump on Iran as their patience wears thin with the monthslong conflict, especially as Americans are concerned with affordability issues heading in the November elections. Eight Republicans helped push through a war powers resolution this month that directs the president to remove armed forces from hostilities with Iran, unless Congress declares war or authorizes the use of military force.
“After dragging America into a reckless war, he now wants Congress to hand him tens of billions more to paper over the damage — while families are still paying higher prices,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday in response to the supplemental request.
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the request “an attempt to secure tens of billions of additional dollars for unrelated Pentagon priorities that should rightly be considered through the annual appropriations process.”
“I will closely review this request in its entirety and ensure we take care of our servicemembers, but I will not rubberstamp tens of billions more for this disastrous war of choice,” she said in a statement.
GOP Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the funding “essential,” saying it would “accelerate immediate production of key capabilities, from exquisite munitions to low-cost hypersonics, strike weapons and drones.”
The supplemental request also seeks $11.1 billion in farm aid and $1.4 billion to go toward efforts to combat the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and elsewhere.
And it also asks Congress to permanently allow E15, an ethanol-gas blend, to be sold at the gas pumps year-round, in order to bring down gas prices, as CBS News reported earlier Wednesday. The administration’s request said it was “an urgent and needed policy change that would expand consumer choice, support domestic fuel production, and provide additional flexibility in fuel markets.”
