Congress Gets Bush Request for War Funds

WASHINGTON — President Bush formally asked Congress on Thursday for $72.4 billion in emergency funds for the Iraq war and the conflict in Afghanistan.

Bush also sought $19.8 billion for the hurricane-battered U.S. Gulf Coast, which would push relief after Hurricane Katrina to about $90 billion.

The war funding request provides necessary resources, Bush said, “so the coalition can continue to hand over control of more territory to Iraqi forces.”

The Pentagon would get $65.3 billion to finance the fighting; additional funds for Iraq and Afghanistan would go through the State Department, and $2.9 billion would go to intelligence operations.

Bush also sought financial aid for the humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region, earthquake relief in Pakistan, democracy promotion in Iran and other uses abroad.

With this package and the $50 billion the White House said it would seek for early next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, spending on Afghanistan and Iraq will pass $440 billion. It probably will approach $500 billion by the end of next year, mostly for Iraq.