Congress has introduced a $94 billion bill to supplement spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it includes strict performance standards for the governments of both countries that must be met by next year.
The bill, introduced in the House on Monday, would require President Barack Obama to submit to Congress by next winter
a report “assessing whether the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan are, or are not, demonstrating the necessary commitment, capability, conduct and unity of purpose to warrant the continuation,” of the latest increase in U.S. military involvement.
The bill, introduced in the House on Monday, abides by Obama’s request for funding to power up military operations in Afghanistan with more than $44 billion designated for operations, maintenance and military for both wars and another $26 billion to replace equipment and airplanes damaged in the two wars.
The performance standards include the level of political unity in Iraq and Afghanistan, how much government corruption exists and how well security forces are combatting insurgents in both countries.
The bill would also allocate $734.4 million to provide $500 per month for service members who have had their enlistments involuntarily extended, retroactively beginning in September 2001.
The House is expected to vote on the extra funds my Memorial Day but they could face a fight by the most liberal members of their own caucus, some of whom have vowed to vote against any increase in war funding.
The bill also includes hundreds of millions of dollars to help troops back in the U.S., including $263 million to replace the dilapidated Walter Reed Army Hospital and $276 million for child development centers for the children of military families.
Obama requested just $73 billion for the effort, but House Democrats increased the amount to include other expenditures, such as $100 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in places like Haiti and for other international assistance such as $151 million for economic and security aide in Africa, $470 million for Mexico’s drug war, $242 million for the country of Georgia and $300 million to address the global financial crisis in “developing countries.”
