Lawmakers eye adding war funds to fiscal 2005 appropriations

Lawmakers and aides said Wednesday it was looking increasingly likely that supplemental funds for combat operations would be provided this year, perhaps as part of the regular fiscal 2005 Defense appropriations bill. Aides initially put the funding figure at $20 billion, although that is in flux.

"The real problem is the Army's needs going into '05," said one House aide briefed on the situation. The Bush administration has requested $401.7 billion in fiscal 2005 defense funds, although the costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan operations were not budgeted for. The administration has long been expected to send to Capitol Hill a supplemental request of up to $50 billion early next year. Some lawmakers argue that is too late and the White House on Wednesday opened the door to seeking war funding this year.

House Appropriations Chairman Young declined to discuss specifics until a final fiscal 2005 budget agreement is in place, which is expected to set aside up to $50 billion in war reserve funds for Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas.

"We have a plan for that, but I'm not going to discuss specifics until such time as a budget resolution is passed by the House and Senate," Young said. Aides said Senate Appropriations Chairman Stevens backs adding fiscal 2005 Defense funds, although through a spokeswoman he said it is premature to discuss the issue.

"Hell, we don't even have a draft of the bill yet," the spokeswoman quoted him as saying.

The Army also faces a shortfall of between $3 billion and $5 billion in fiscal 2004 funds, an aide said, which could cause problems for Iraq operations as early as late summer. A House aide said the Pentagon might be able to reprogram existing funds to cover the shortfall, although defense planners would have more information after a Pentagon mid-session review in May. House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., said the $87 billion fiscal 2004 supplemental "gave us an opportunity" to get through the end of the year, but did not rule out additional fiscal 2004 funds.