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Estimated War-Related Costs, Iraq and Afghanistan According to the Center for Defense Information, the
estimated cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan varies dramatically
depending on what federal agency is doing the reporting. The Congressional
Research Service (see their table below) concludes that the total cost of
the wars thus far (through FY 2007) has been $448.6 billion, while the
Congressional Budget Office puts it at $463 billion, the Government
Accountability Office estimates $447.8 billion, and the Department of
Defense lowballs it at $426.5 billion—a range of figures varying by
more than $20 billion. One reason for such discrepancies is that most
war-related costs are not included in the actual U.S. Defense Budget but are
submitted over the course of the fiscal year in the form of
“supplemental appropriations” and “bridge funds,”
which, according to the Congressional Budget Office “do not provide
enough detail to determine how…funds for operations in Iraq and the
war on terrorism have been obligated.”
| |
In billions of budgeted
dollars |
| Operation |
FY
2001+ 2002 |
FY
20031 |
FY
20042 |
FY
20053 |
FY
2006 |
FY
2007 |
Total |
| Iraq |
|
$53.0 |
$75.9 |
$84.6 |
$101.9 |
$133.2 |
$448.6 |
| Afghanistan |
20.8 |
14.7 |
14.5 |
20.9 |
19.1 |
36.8 |
126.8 |
| Enhanced security |
13.0 |
8.0 |
3.7 |
2.1 |
0.8 |
0.4 |
28.0 |
| Unable to allocate |
|
5.5 |
|
|
|
|
5.5 |
| Totals |
$33.8 |
$81.1 |
$94.1 |
$107.6 |
$121.8 |
$170.4 |
$608.8 |
1. Includes $5.5 billion of $7.1
billion appropriated in DOD's FY2003 Appropriations Act (P.L. 107-48) for
the global war on terror that CRS cannot allocate and DOD cannot
track. 2. Of the $25 billion provided in
Title IX of the FY2005 DOD appropriation bill, CRS includes $2 billion in
FY2004 when it was obligated and the remaining $23 billion in FY2005.
Because Congress made the funds available in FY2004, CBO and OMB score all
$25 billion in FY2004. 3. Includes funds
in the FY2007 Supplemental (H.R. 2206/P.L. 110-28), Title IX, P.L. 109-289,
FY2007 DOD Appropriations Act (H.R. 5631) designated for war and funds for
other agencies in H.J. Res 20, P.L. 110-50, the year-long Continuing
Resolution. VA Medical estimates reflect VA FY2008 budget materials and CRS
estimates. Amounts for foreign and diplomatic operations reflects State
Department figures. Source: “The Cost of
Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since
9/11,” Amy Belasco, Congressional Research Service Report for
Congress, RL33110, p. CRS-6); and Center for Defense Information,
“Defense Budget Tutorial: So, You Think You Know the Cost of the
Wars?” Web: www.cdi.org.
Information
Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights
reserved.
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