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Summary:
With enactment of the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2764/P.L. 110-161) on December 26, 2007, Congress has approved a total of about $700 billion for military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans' health care for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks: Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Afghanistan and other counter terror operations; Operation Noble Eagle (ONE), providing enhanced security at military bases; and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). This $700 billion total covers all war-related appropriations from FY2001 in supplementals, regular appropriations, and continuing resolutions including not quite half of the FY2008 request. Of that total, CRS estimates that Iraq will receive about $526 billion (74%), OEF about $140 billion (20%), and enhanced base security about $28 billion (5%), with about $5 billion that CRS cannot allocate (1%). About 94% of the funds are for DOD, 6% for foreign aid programs and embassy operations, and less than 1% for medical care for veterans. As of February 2008, DOD's monthly obligations for contracts and pay averaged about $12.1 billion, including $9.8 billion for Iraq, and $2.3 billion for Afghanistan. The Administration requested $195.5 billion for war-related activities in DOD, State/USAID, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical programs for FY2008. Thus far, Congress has provided $90.3 billion for war needs. Congress hopes to pass both the pending FY2008 supplemental request of $105.2 billion and the amended FY2009 Bridge Fund of $70 billion before the Memorial Day recess. For FY2009, the Administration requested about $71.3 billion for war costs in baseline and bridge requests including $66 billion for DOD, $2.5 billion for State Department/USAID foreign and diplomatic operations, and $1.3 billion for VA medical care for OIF and OEF veterans. If Congress provides these amounts, war funding would total about $876 billion including about $660 billion for OIF and $181 billion for OEF. The House version of the supplemental did not include war funding while the Senate version included about $3 billion less than the request for war costs. On May 27, DOD requested approval to transfer $9.7 billion mostly to the Army to cover costs until late July 2008 while Congress continues to consider the supplemental. If it were necessary to extend financing by another couple of weeks, DOD could also move another $5.5 billion in funds to personnel and operating costs using current authorities. The $70 billion bridge request for FY2009 is expected to last until about July of 2009, well into the new Administration. In February 2008, the Congressional Budget Office projected that additional war costs from FY2009 through FY2018 could range from $440 billion, if troop levels fell to 30,000 by 2010, to $1.0 trillion, if troop levels fell to 75,000 by about 2013. Under these scenarios, CBO projects that funding for Iraq, Afghanistan and the GWOT could reach from about $1.1 trillion to about $1.7 trillion for FY2001FY2018. This report will be updated as warranted.
