What happened
The US Congress has delayed voting on a $45 billion war funding bill for the ongoing conflict with Iran until after the upcoming elections. The White House initially requested $87.6 billion in supplemental funding in June, but the bill has not yet been passed into law.
The House of Representatives passed a $95 billion budget resolution and a $1.1 trillion defense authorization bill, but neither has been approved by the Senate. A stopgap funding bill was passed to keep the government open until December 11, but it did not include the emergency war supplemental requested by the Pentagon.
The cost of the war has already reached approximately $45.1 billion, according to the Pentagon, and is expected to continue to rise. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the war has cost around $38 billion as of August 1.
The delay in voting on the war funding bill means that the decision will be made during the lame-duck session, after the elections have taken place. This has raised concerns about accountability and the ability of voters to hold their representatives responsible for the costs of the war.
The author of the article, a financial controller and public finance analyst, argues that the delay is not neutral and that it changes the incentives for lawmakers. The author also suggests that voters should be able to weigh in on the funding plan before the election, rather than after.
