By Xinhua
Washington : The Bush administration has asked for an additional $42.3 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the request for total war funding for 2008 to $189.3 billion.
The request comes on top of $147 billion already sought for in the wars.
Most of the money goes to Iraq, which is costing the Pentagon an estimated $2 billion a week.
“Parts of this war are complicated, but one part is not — and that is that America should do what it takes to support our troops and protect our people,” US President George W. Bush said in an appearance with members of veterans groups at the White House.
Bush said the money would cover basic operating expenses, plus additional armoured vehicles and countermeasures designed to protect US troops from roadside bombs.
“Congress should not go home for the holidays while our troops are still waiting for the funds they need,” he said.
The president also called on the Congress to finish the appropriations bills that fund the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs before the lawmakers’ holiday recess, set to begin in mid-November.
The request is bound to kick off another debate in Capitol Hill over the course of the Iraq war.
Bush’s last supplemental spending request led to a showdown with the Democratic leaders of Congress, who pushed for a withdrawal of American combat troops in 2008 — a demand dropped after the president vetoed the measure.
Minutes after Bush spoke, Senate majority leader Harry Reid warned the president not to expect Congress to “rubber-stamp” the latest request.
“In the coming weeks, we will hold it up to the light of day and fight for the change of strategy and redeployment of troops that is long overdue,” Reid said.
He said the new request means the overall cost of the widely unpopular war now approaches $650 billion since the March 2003 invasion.