House Republicans on Thursday moved toward unlocking up to $95 billion in new spending for the war on Iran and other priorities.
The House Budget Committee approved a framework that allows the money to move through reconciliation, meaning it can pass the Senate with a simple majority and without a filibuster. The vote was the first step and ensured more debate in the House over the costs and whether Congress greenlit the operation.
Weeks after the White House requested $87.6 billion in supplemental funding, House Republicans pushed the expanded plan. Approximately $67 billion of the request would go to the Pentagon to cover costs from the campaign against Iran that started Feb. 28.
When the White House sought the nearly $90 billion in supplemental funding, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a letter that the request addresses “urgent needs” connected to the operation. The defense portion includes $21 billion to replace munitions and restock supplies used in the fighting, $17.3 billion for operational costs, and $12.1 billion for classified programs.
The request also earmarks money for nonwar items, such as $11.1 billion in assistance for American farmers and $1.4 billion to respond to an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa.
Both the House and Senate earlier authorized war powers resolutions calling for limits on more military action in Iran without explicit congressional approval. A small number of Republicans voted along Democratic lines.
The Pentagon had earlier estimated that $29 billion would be needed for the war. The new request is higher, especially for munitions replenishment.
Lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns about the cost of the war. Democrats criticized the scale of additional defense spending for what they said was an unauthorized conflict. Some Republican fiscal conservatives also disagreed with the approach amid other budget priorities.
Some lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), opposed the funding request.
“The bottom line is that we shouldn’t spend another dime of taxpayer dollars on ‘Operation Epic Failure’ that has been a disaster for the national security and the economic interests of the American people,” he said during a briefing on Capitol Hill.
