Kent Conrad: “today I want to discuss the Defense Appropriations conference report. I want to say upfront this legislation is…”

“today I want to discuss the Defense Appropriations conference report. I want to say upfront this legislation is extremely important. At a time when our soldiers are still in harm's way in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world, this legislation provides resources they need. This bill is all the more important because costs of war in Iraq are spiraling upward. The GAO has just reported that there is a shortfall of over $12 billion in funding for war costs for fiscal year 2004. This is on top of the $87 billion supplemental that we passed last year. This year's Defense Appropriations bill makes $25 billion in emergency reserve funding for war costs available immediately, helping to cover this shortfall and ensure that our troops have what they need in Iraq. It is important to note that much more is likely to be needed in 2005. CBO recently estimated that military operations in 2005 could cost $55-$60 billion. These estimates demonstrate that the Bush administration has failed to budget properly for the war in Iraq and continues to understate the likely cost of these operations. While this Defense conference report is extremely important, I want to make clear that I am deeply disappointed with the budget provisions that were added to this conference report behind closed doors by the majority, without any debate in the House or Senate.”