by Christopher Hellman
On April 9, 2009, the Obama administration released details of its Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 supplemental funding request for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The total request is $83.4 billion to fund ongoing military, diplomatic, and intelligence operations. Of this amount, $75.5 billion is for costs related to military operations and intelligence activities in Iraq and Afghanistan; and $7.1 billion is for international affairs and stabilization activities in those countries and around the globe.
In February 2008, the Bush administration requested a $70 billion supplemental “bridge” fund to cover the costs of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the first part of FY 2009, which began on October 1, 2008. Congress approved $65.9 billion.
On February 26, 2009, the Obama administration released the initial details of its proposed FY 2010 budget for the federal government. At that time, the administration indicated that it would also be seeking an additional $75.5 billion in supplemental funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the latter part of the current fiscal year (FY 2009).
HIGHLIGHTS
- Provides $0.6 billion for the procurement of four F-22 fighters to replace aircraft lost in the theater of operations
- $1.5 billion to respond to the threat from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)
- $2.7 billion for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle Fund
- $0.5 billion for the Commander’s Emergency Response Program (CERP), which allows U.S. officers to finance urgent humanitarian relief and reconstruction requirements in their area of responsibility (AOR)
- $3.6 billion to expand and improve capabilities of the Afghan security forces
- $909 million for the Defense Health Program
- $89.5 million for the Department of Energy’s nuclear threat reduction programs to safeguard nuclear material in Russia ($55 million) and other sites worldwide and to continue disablement and dismantlement of North Korea’s plutonium program ($34.5 million)
- $3.7 billion for foreign assistance and operations in Afghanistan ($1.6 billion), Pakistan, ($1.4 billion), and Iraq (0.7 billion)
MAJOR DEFENSE FUNDING PROVISIONS
Military Personnel: $16.2 billion
Operations & Maintenance: $35.5 billion
Procurement: $23.1 billion Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation: $810 million
Revolving and Management Funds: $847 million
Military Construction: $2.1 billion
TOTAL: $78.5 billion
NOTE: The total shown here ($78.5 billion) exceeds the $75.5 billion total given for the request. The difference of just over $3 billion is offset by $2.9 billion in fuel savings and $0.5 billion in procurement reductions from previous war funding packages.
FUNDING TO DATE FOR IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN
- Congress has approved $864 billion since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 to support military operations and other aspects of the “War on Terror.” (CRS, through June 30, 2008)
- Of this, $814 billion has gone to the Pentagon, or 94 percent of the total
- Only $46.6 billion has gone to the Department of State and USAID, roughly 5 percent. Of this amount, $21.1 billion was appropriated in FY 2004 for reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan
- Pentagon funding has been split primarily between operations in Iraq ($621 billion, or 76 percent of the total) and Afghanistan ($160 billion, or 20 percent)
- Including the new $75.5 billion FY 2009 request for the Pentagon and the additional $7.1 billion requested for international affairs, total emergency funding since September 2001 is $947 billion
