The White House has formally requested $87.6 billion from Congress to fund operations related to the Iran conflict, aid U.S. farmers, and address the Ebola response, according to reports early Thursday. The request is higher than the Pentagon's earlier $80 billion figure.
The White House has submitted a $87.6 billion supplemental funding request to Congress, covering costs related to the ongoing Iran conflict, aid to U.S. farmers, and the Ebola response, according to reports Thursday morning Jerusalem time.
The figure is $7.6 billion higher than the $80 billion the Pentagon had separately requested from Congress in the preceding weeks. As The Zioneer has reported, the Pentagon had warned of cutbacks in training and deployments if the funding were not approved (published June 19 and June 24). President Trump had also publicly defended the need for the funding (published June 23).
The request bundles multiple policy priorities — defense operations in the Iran theater, domestic agricultural support, and global health response — into a single package. Specific breakdowns of the allocation among the three components have not yet been detailed in the initial reports.
The request now moves to Congress, where its scope and composition are expected to face scrutiny from both parties.
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