Recently, the Senate approved a defense policy bill 90-3. The House passed the bill earlier and will send it to President Bush to endorse. This bill permits $696 billion for military spending, which includes $189 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and $10 billion for ballistic missile defense. The bill would also give more aid to returning troops, establish conditions for contractors involved in the rebuilding of Iraq and Afghanistan, and establish management guidelines for expensive weapon programs. The bill also includes a 3.5% pay increase for service members, guaranteed mental health evaluations for combat veterans within 30 days, no fee raises to the military’s health care system, and a guaranteed three additional years of Veterans Affairs health care for returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan after being discharged. The bill requires that private security contractors working in a war zone obey military regulations and orders from commanders, and an auditing system would be created to watch over reconstruction contracts in Afghanistan. Do you think the US is spending its money wisely? Will this increased military spending help the war in Iraq and Afghanistan or will it just prolong the war? Should the US redirect this money towards domestic issues instead? If so, what domestic issue would you direct it towards?
4 comments:
Since the troops are going to be stuck in Iraq until at least the end of Bush's presidency, I have no problem with this bill for the short term. If the troops and contractors won't be going anywhere soon, I think its important to provide them with the tools they need to succeed. We've seen the damage caused by troops not having the simple armor necessary to protect themselves from roadside bombs, etc. I think the less we spend on the war now the longer it could potentially last.
I think this bill is a little over board. We should be using this money on more domestic issues such as health care or education. However, i do like the idea of giving more aid to returning troops, increasing pay for service members and additional years of health care. I just don't think it needs to take 696 billion dollars. If we are investing so much more money into the war, we can see that its not even close to being over.
It is clear that the Bush administration is trying to avoid the mistake of not taking care of War Veterans; which was seen after the Vietnam War. After Vietnam troops returned with PTSD and were unable to work, which resulted in lots of homeless, mentally unstable war veterans. I guess the Bush administration has learned from past mistakes. By providing soldiers with a higher salary, more health benefits, and free mental health evaluations, I think they will avoid the problems that were seen after Vietnam. I strongly support the "aiding of soldiers" portion of this defense bill.
I think the Senate was wise when they drafted this bill. Many Democrats will be outraged when they find out about the $189 billion reserved for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but they will accept the fact that some of the bill's money is reserved for the well-being of the troops. This bill appeals to both sides of the political spectrum.
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