Have a question for those in the know. Is this money going to support our troops, or to rebuild their infrastructure, or for the Iraqui people? That would be the big question because we all support the troops obviously but what and how much do we owe the Iraqui people?
Issues for Congress
In light of this lack of transparency about funding for war-related activities, Congress may want to examine current reporting requirements.
The Defense Department is currently not required to identify the amount of funds requested or report its plans once funds are appropriated for each of the three missions.
DOD also does not report, by public law, which funds are tapped (from supplementals or regular bills) to meet war expenses.
Starting on October 31, 2005, DOD is required to report the cumulative totals to date for Iraq and Afghanistan but not for enhanced base security.
Given DOD’s difficulties in tracking and segregating war-related costs, Congress may want to consider having DOD set up separate accounts for warrelated expenses that would build on DFAS tracking categories. DOD is also not required to request all war-related funds on a mission basis.
It would be useful to know DOD’s initial plans by mission for Iraq, Afghanistan, enhanced security, or other missions in the “global war on terrorism,” for all funds appropriated and transferred in order to compare those plans with later obligations and assess the accuracy of DOD’s forecasts.