While we are being told the war is all but over because the United States and Iran have agreed to a memorandum of understanding to end it, other news surfaces that makes it appear that it isn’t quite done. U.S. President Donald Trump recently asked Congress for $88 billion to continue the war against Iran.
The White House has formally requested $87.6 billion, mostly to replenish the Pentagon after the US started and lost a war against Iran. This proposal comes as btoh democrats and republicans rejct further military action.
The administration said it is requesting $67 billion for the Department of Defense for what it said were urgent needs related to the war against Iran, including “funding for military personnel and readiness expenses, operational costs to rebuild stocks.”
According to Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the request for funding is mostly for expenses incurred by the Defense Department as part of Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.-led attack on Iran. But it also includes a range of other items, such as aid to American farmers, support for the Ebola crisis in Africa, and other needs closer to home, including restoration projects in Washington, D.C.
The White House made sure to incentivize certain lawmakers to agree to this funding. Some provisions will certainly be of interest to lawmakers from various regions, including $1 billion to assist “the final design and construction of a modernized Penn Station in New York City,” which would be of interest to the Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York.
It also wants $11.1 billion toward economic assistance for American farmers, $1.4 billion for the Ebola virus outbreak in Central Africa and requests $500 million to support ongoing efforts “to complete restoration and construction projects in and around Washington, D.C.” –PBS
Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the request is twofold. It is not just to pay for “the president’s disastrous war, but 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,” Murray added.
This administration has not shown other ruling class members or the general public that it wants to end war. If anything, it has shown the exact oppossite, which is why there’s been massive pushback on this funding proposal.