On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 12:33:40 +0200, Torsten Brinch
wrote:

July 27:
From Testimony as Delivered by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul
Wolfowitz, and Director, Office of Management and Budget, Joshua
Bolten before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee 27 July

..
SEN. BIDEN: How much will you be requesting for the remainder of the
year, if any, from the United States Congress to fund that need?

MR. BOLTEN: We don't anticipate requesting anything additional for the
balance of this year.

August 27
Bush may ask Congress for extra Iraq funding earlier than expected
by ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

(08-27) 13:55 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
The Bush administration may ask Congress next month for a few billion
more dollars for Iraq reconstruction, officials said Wednesday, only a
few weeks after the Pentagon said extra money would not be needed at
least until the new budget year begins in October.

The possible early infusion of fresh cash is an indication of the
urgency felt by L. Paul Bremer, the civilian administrator of Iraq,
and others in the administration to make faster progress in Iraq.
The administration has been saying for weeks that it expects to
request billions in emergency funding for Iraq during the 2004 budget
year, but until now it had insisted enough money was available through
September to pay for civic projects like repairing utilities and
schools.

In fact, as recently as Aug. 4 the Pentagon had estimated that $4
billion of the $62.6 billion in emergency funding it received in April
would be left over when the budget year ends Sept. 30.

The United States is spending about $3.9 billion a month on military
operations in Iraq, and that does not count funds used by Bremer's
Coalition Provisional Authority to rebuild the wartorn country.

The U.S. military has about 140,000 troops in Iraq and is expected to
maintain that level for the foreseeable future. Some in Congress are
even calling for more troops, which would add costs.

White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan told reporters Wednesday it was
too early to say for sure how much extra money would be needed to
cover costs in Iraq -- or when it would be requested.
"We don't have the numbers at this point, and until we have
responsible numbers we're not going to go to Congress," she said,
speaking at President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas.

A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Kenneth McClellan, also declined to
discuss timing or amounts.

"We are working with Ambassador Bremer to meet his requirements and
have not finalized on any amounts," he said.

Some in Congress are critical of the administration for not offering
an estimate of how much the Iraq occupation and reconstruction effort
will cost next year. The Pentagon says it depends on several
variables, including international contributions and the extent of
Iraqi oil revenues.

Bremer told The Washington Post on Tuesday that it would take years
and "several tens of billions" of dollars from outside Iraq to get the
country functioning again. Bush said Tuesday it would take a
"substantial commitment of time and resources," but he offered no
figures.