$60 Billion More for Funding Iran War

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans on the House Budget Committee advanced a $95 billion package Thursday for the Iran war, farm aid and President Donald Trump’s push for strict new voter ID requirements, moving forward on a party-line vote despite trouble in the full House — and the Senate.

Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington framed the proposal as one last push to deliver for voters ahead of the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. It advanced on a vote of 20-14. “We are rallying to finish what we started when the American people sent us here,” said Arrington, R-Texas.

With Iran war funding making up the bulk of the package, some $60 billion, Arrington acknowledged that people could debate “why we’re there” in the overseas conflict. But he said the money is needed for basic supplies — “just the bombs, bullets and battlefield readiness for our men and women in uniform to finish the fight successfully and return home safely — that’s it.”

The resolution, which sets out instructions for the various congressional committees to draw up proposals, also calls for $13 billion for Intelligence, $12 billion for Agriculture, and $10 billion for Administration, which handles voting and elections.

-AP

Depending on how it is directed, $60 billion could fully fund universal free preschool across the U.S. for years, triple the nation's annual federal medical research budget, or make tuition-free public college a reality for nearly half of all full-time undergraduate students. [1]

Here is a breakdown of what that sum translates to today:

In Healthcare: It could double the annual budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to accelerate cures for cancer and heart disease. Alternatively, it covers more than a year of total federal spending on the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). [1, 2]

In Infrastructure: It would be enough to clear the maintenance backlog of the entire U.S. mass transit system, or construct thousands of miles of high-speed rail lines connecting regional hubs like Chicago and the Midwest.

In Global Relief: It could fund the entirety of the United Nations' annual humanitarian and peacekeeping operations for over five years or wipe out the national debts of several developing nations.

In Corporate Value: It matches the recent order backlog of AI hardware makers like Super Micro Computer or the annualized sales of Amazon Business. [1, 2, 3]

In the broader scope of U.S. federal outlays, $60 billion equates to roughly 0.8% of the federal budget, or just over half of what the U.S. spends annually on primary and secondary public education combined.

 -AI Overview