Feingold Urges President to Budget Responsibly: "The Time Has Come to Budget for War" After the Failure to Budget for Operations in Afghanistan and Iraq for 2004 and Fiscal Year 2005 Feingold Again Presses for Fiscal Discipline for Fiscal Year 2006 December 13, 2004 Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Russ Feingold today, in a letter to the President, urged him to make sure that when he sends his budget proposal to Congress at the beginning of next year, he include the costs for ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Over the past two years, Feingold has pressed the administration and Congress to include operation estimates in the nation's budget, rather than asking for tens of billions of dollars in a supplemental bill months later. With the nation's deficit reaching $413 billion, Feingold hopes the President will finally send a fiscally responsible budget to Congress at the beginning of next year. "The administration is playing a shell game with the American taxpayer if it continues to keep the costs of ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq off of the books," Feingold said. "Both the President and Congress are responsible for our current record deficit. I hope that everyone can agree that the time has come to budget for war." Last month Congress passed an omnibus appropriations bill containing millions and millions of dollars of unauthorized, earmarked spending -- commonly referred to as "pork." Excluding the costs of ongoing military operations from the normal budget process makes it easier for Congress to continue with such spending and avoid making the difficult budget decisions it must to get our fiscal house in order. "Although estimating the incremental costs of ongoing operations with great precision may be difficult, it is not impossible, and a reasonable estimate that covers most of the costs can be easily generated," Feingold said. "We are all united in the goals of succeeding in Afghanistan and Iraq and providing our troops in the field with the best possible training and equipment. However, we must do so in an honest and straightforward manner, which includes properly budgeting for these ongoing operations."

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