By DPA
Washington : US President George W. Bush pressed lawmakers to approve 2008 war funding for Iraq and Afghanistan, raising his rhetoric in a deadlock he says could force 100,000 civilian military employees out of their jobs.
Bush claimed progress in Iraq and suggested that Congress, where his Democratic Party opponents control both chambers, was undermining missions “essential to saving Americans’ lives”.
“Let us tell our men and women in uniform that we will give them what they need to succeed in their missions, without strings and without delay,” he said after talks with military top brass at the Pentagon Thursday.
The administration is pressing lawmakers to wrap up the 2008 defence budget before the US House of Representatives adjourns for the Christmas holidays, tentatively on Dec 13. But that appears highly unlikely.
Bush is seeking $178 billion to pay for the US war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan through next autumn. He used his presidential veto this year to block Democratic attempts to legislate an end to the war in Iraq.
Meanwhile, Pentagon officials are drafting plans to furlough employees and reduce operations at Army bases by Christmas.
Barring new funding, the Army would run out of money for operations and maintenance in early February and the Marine Corps in early March, Pentagon officials said.
Some 100,000 civilian employees and an equal number of military contractors would then be temporarily laid off and the two services’ bases would be virtually shut down, providing only basic security for troops stationed at the facilities, the Pentagon said.
Lawmakers this month crafted a stopgap bill that would provide $50 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan, but Bush rejected the proposal because it set a goal of December 2008 for a pullout of US combat forces in Iraq.