WASHINGTON, March 27 (UPI) -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told a Senate panel Thursday that the war in Iraq, while expensive, will be worth the money because it will deter terror. Democrats expressed concern that the administration wanted a blank check for the campaign.
After asking for a budget of over $74 billion to fund the initial military action in Iraq and provide additional money for the fight against terrorism in the United States, the Bush administration sent top officials to testify before various committees.
Rumsfeld and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee that the requested should be approved immediately. Rumsfeld even noted its substantial size in making the request.
"(It is a) great deal of money," he said, but added that the cost would be worth it, as it would prevent future terrorist attacks.
"Whatever it ends up costing, it will be small compared to the cost in lives and treasure of another attack like we experienced on Sept. 11," he said, referring to the 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington that killed about 3,000 people.
But he drew immediate criticism from the committee's ranking Democrat, who accused the administration of bypassing the legal framework usually used to appropriate funds.
"I cannot support giving any administration a blank check to fight a war," said Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., a frequent and outspoken critic of the Bush administration war plans.
"The American people have a right to know how their money is being spent," he added.
Rumsfeld testified that the Pentagon needed the maximum flexibility in its spending process to respond to the murky combat conditions involved with the fight against Saddam Hussein's regime.
The panel's Republican members, who seemed to indicate that the supplemental budget request would be quickly approved in its requested form, defended the need to approve the request. Bush asked that the request be approved by April 11, a deadline the congressional leadership sounded optimistic could be met.
"I don't believe that you have asked for a blank check," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. "We need to give you all the flexibility, and all the resources, you need to fight this war to a successful conclusion.
Ridge also testified about the need for billions in homeland security spending. Many on the panel demanded details of how that money would be spent to assist local first responders, who have told some lawmakers that they have not received adequate funding to respond to potential terror attacks.
"I'm concerned that they are not getting the resources they need and were promised by the administration," said Byrd.
On the House side seven subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee also held hearings on the budget request. Officials from the State Department, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and even FBI Director Robert Mueller testified about the specific budget requests of their agencies.
