Tom Harkin: “lastly, the chairman, I know, is trying to get some figures from the Department of Defense on how much this costs. We…”

“lastly, the chairman, I know, is trying to get some figures from the Department of Defense on how much this costs. We have an estimate right now that the provision in the bill itself that provides for the $180 payment in lieu of food stamps will cost, at most, $26 million a year through the year 2004--$26 million a year through the year 2004. What Senator Bingaman and I are seeking to do is extending this overseas, streamlining the process--that doesn't cost anything--not counting the basic housing allowance and getting the $42 a month in the WIC payments to troops stationed overseas. Mr. President, I will bet you my bottom dollar and anything I have that it will not even double it. It can't double it. It would be impossible to double it because we have more people in the United States than we have stationed overseas. But even if it did double, we are talking about $52 million a year. I think the DOD budget next year is something like $270 billion. We can't afford $52 million? I am saying that would be the maximum if you double it. We would have exactly the same number of people overseas in the same pay grade than we have stationed here, and we know that is not so. I await the figures from the Department of Defense to see what they say.…”