More War Funding Requested (Updated)

On October 22, the administration submitted a request for a further $45.9 billion in war-related spending for fiscal year 2008. This request is on top of $147 billion already requested for the Department of Defense and $3.6 billion for other agencies for the fiscal year. If appropriated by Congress, the vast majority would be spent on Iraq. Total spending for the Iraq War would rise to approximately $611 billion.

The Department of Defense portion of this request, for $42.3 billion, was announced by Defense Secretary Gates in September during Senate testimony. Table 1 [1] provides summary information. Table 2 [2] indicates how much each state's taxpayers would spend. Figure 1 [3] indicates the breakdown of the $147 billion requested for the Deptartment of Defense. Figure 2 [4] shows the cost of past wars.

Table 1: Summary of War-related Request for FY2008

FY2008 Request (in billions)   Department of Defense   Total DoD Requested (Feb., July, Oct.) $189.3 Of which will be spent on Iraq $151.8     Other Agencies*   February Request $3.6 Of which will be spent on Iraq $3.2 October Amendment $3.6 Of which will be spent on Iraq $0.5     TOTAL SUPPLEMENTAL SPENDING $196.5 TOTAL IRAQ-RELATED WAR SPENDING $155.5

*Other agency spending for Iraq includes: U.S. Coast Guard ($223 million), Diplomatic and Consular Porgrams ($2.1 billion), Migration and Refugee Assistance ($195 million), Economic Support Fund ($797 million), International Narcotics Control and Enforcement ($159 million), International Disaster and Famine Assistance ($80 million), Office of Inspector General ($35 million), Contributions to International Organizations ($27 million), and USAID ($45.8 million).

Table 2: State Taxpayer Shares of Iraq War Costs To find out what this money could provide if it were spent on other priorities in your state or congressional district, go to the NPP Trade-offs Page [5].

State Appropriated FY2008 New Requests New Possible Total United States, total $456 billion $155.5 billion $611.5 billion Alabama $4.2 billion $1.4 billion $5.6 billion Alaska $780.3 million $266 million $1 billion Arizona $6.3 billion $2.1 billion $8.4 billion Arkansas $4.3 billion $1.5 billion $5.7 billion California $57.8 billion $19.7 billion $77.5 billion Colorado $7 billion $2.4 billion $9.3 billion Connecticut $11.1 billion $3.8 billion $14.9 billion Delaware $2.9 billion $974.3 million $3.8 billion District of Columbia $2 billion $667.4 million $2.6 billion Florida $25 billion $8.5 billion $33.5 billion Georgia $13.2 billion $4.5 billion $17.6 billion Hawaii $1.5 billion $502.6 million $2 billion Idaho $1.2 billion $422.5 million $1.7 billion Illinois $24.7 billion $8.4 billion $33.1 billion Indiana $6.9 billion $2.4 billion $9.3 billion Iowa $3.5 billion $1.2 billion $4.6 billion Kansas $3.6 billion $1.2 billion $4.8 billion Kentucky $3.5 billion $1.2 billion $4.7 billion Louisiana $3.5 billion $1.2 billion $4.7 billion Maine $1.2 billion $418.4 million $1.6 billion Maryland $8.8 billion $3 billion $11.9 billion Massachusetts $12.9 billion $4.4 billion $17.3 billion Michigan $12.1 billion $4.1 billion $16.2 billion Minnesota $11 billion $3.7 billion $14.7 billion Mississippi $1.8 billion $604.9 million $2.4 billion Missouri $7 billion $2.4 billion $9.3 billion Montana $698.3 million $238.1 million $936.4 million Nebraska $3.3 billion $1.1 billion $4.4 billion Nevada $4.1 billion $1.4 billion $5.5 billion New Hampshire $1.9 billion $635.6 million $2.5 billion New Jersey $20.8 billion $7.1 billion $27.9 billion New Mexico $1.4 billion $473.2 million $1.9 billion New York $40.9 billion $13.9 billion $54.9 billion North Carolina $12.3 billion $4.2 billion $16.6 billion North Dakota $550.2 million $187.6 million $737.8 million Ohio $16 billion $5.5 billion $21.4 billion Oklahoma $6.9 billion $2.4 billion $9.3 billion Oregon $3.7 billion $1.3 billion $4.9 billion Pennsylvania $17.4 billion $5.9 billion $23.3 billion Rhode Island $1.8 billion $622.4 million $2.4 billion South Carolina $3.3 billion $1.1 billion $4.5 billion South Dakota $693.5 million $236.4 million $929.9 million Tennessee $7 billion $2.4 billion $9.4 billion Texas $37.3 billion $12.7 billion $50 billion Utah $2.4 billion $834 million $3.3 billion Vermont $663 million $226 million $889.1 million Virginia $12.4 billion $4.2 billion $16.6 billion Washington $10.4 billion $3.5 billion $13.9 billion West Virginia $1.2 billion $424.5 million $1.7 billion Wisconsin $7.3 billion $2.5 billion $9.8 billion Wyoming $782.7 million $266.8 million $1 billion

Figure 1: The Breakdown of the FY2008 Request for War-related Spending, Dept. of Defense*

Figure 2: Cost of Selected Wars (in billions of $2007)

All wars are in 2007 billions of dollars except Iraq which is in current dollars, in other words, it is the running cost from 2003 to present, and includes proposed additional spending for fiscal year 2008 (indicated on the graph as $155 billion). Cost of Korean War and Vietnam War are from Congressional Research Service, RL32090, 'FY2004 Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Global War on Terrorism: Military Operations & Reconstruction Assistance, updated October 15, 2003 and were converted to 2007 dollars.