WASHINGTON -- The federal government does not have the $87 billion that President Bush requested Sunday night for post-war Iraq and will have to add to the budget deficit to meet the needs, said Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind.
“There are not accounts to subtract from to get $87 billion,” Lugar, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said today. “It is an additional expense that can only be paid for if we have extraordinary growth in the economy of the country.”
Asked if he would support rolling back tax cuts to pay for the war, Lugar told Gannett reporters this morning that he would only do that if he felt the tax cuts were not helping the economy recover.
“We may have to analyze carefully what works and what hasn’t,” Lugar said. “But I would not willy-nilly rescind the whole thing just for the sake of hopefully balancing the budget.”
Lugar predicted Congress will approve the $87 billion, but not before lawmakers contribute their own two cents.
“There are not accounts to subtract from to get $87 billion,” Lugar, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said today. “It is an additional expense that can only be paid for if we have extraordinary growth in the economy of the country.”
Asked if he would support rolling back tax cuts to pay for the war, Lugar told Gannett reporters this morning that he would only do that if he felt the tax cuts were not helping the economy recover.
“We may have to analyze carefully what works and what hasn’t,” Lugar said. “But I would not willy-nilly rescind the whole thing just for the sake of hopefully balancing the budget.”
Lugar predicted Congress will approve the $87 billion, but not before lawmakers contribute their own two cents.
