The response, the world leaders portrayed in Austin Powers gasped in disbelief. Hell, when I watched it I thought to myself, “now that’s a lot of money.”

But that is nothing in this age of Bush Administration spending. Now, in the Global War On Terror, a request for supplemental appropriations in the amount of $190 Billion is par.

From the Pentagon:

Gates; Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte; Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Defense Department Comptroller Tina W. Jonas testified before the committee. The request brings the total supplement for fiscal 2008 to $190 billion, Gates said.

“I urge the Congress to approve the complete global war on terror request as quickly as possible and without excessive and counterproductive restrictions,” the secretary said. “That will help the department manage its expenses and people more effectively and minimize costly reprogramming actions. …

“I know that Iraq and other difficult choices America faces in the war on terror will continue to be a source of friction within the Congress, between the Congress and the president, and in the wider public debate,” Gates said. “Considering this, I would like to close with a word about something I know we can all agree on — the honor, courage and great sense of duty we have witnessed in our troops since Sept. 11.

“Under some of the most trying conditions, they have done far more than what was asked of them and far more than what was expected,” the secretary continued. “Like all of you, I am both humbled and inspired by my trips to Walter Reed (Army Medical Center) and to the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, like all of you, I always keep our troops – their safety and their mission – foremost in my mind every day.”

Key concepts: Appropriate the money, Congress – because of Sept. 11 and to support the troops.

Same old crap.

How Much Money Is 100 Billion Dollars?

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this one. Consider these ways to measure that amount:

The total amount of all currency currently in circulation, issued by the U.S. is approximately 976 Billion Dollars. Therefore, to pay the $190 Billion in U.S. currency, the Pentagon would have to round up almost one-fifth of every dollar bill, every penny in peoples’ closet jars, and printed money being held by weaker governments overseas.

The current “poverty rate” in the Untied States is approximately $19,000.00 per year. For that person to earn $190 Billion it would take him or her 9.5 million years. So, if a person (not that they existed that long ago) were to start saving back in the Miocene Epoch when the Andes Mountains were forming as the result of continental shift and the Greenland Ice Cap had not yet formed, then, by today, that person would have earned $190 Billion.

To pay for the entire increase in funding for S-CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) that President Bush is threatening to veto – is would take only 2.6% of the single-year War On Terror Supplemental budget to cover another 6 million children without health insurance which the Congress is attempting to do.

In Bush’s threats to veto Democrats’ domestic budgets he comments:

“Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in Congress want to spend far more. Their budget calls for nearly $22 billion more in discretionary spending next year alone. These leaders have tried to downplay that figure. Yesterday one called this increase — and I quote — “a very small difference” from what I proposed. Only in Washington can $22 billion be called a very small difference.”

Well, Mr. President, maybe only in Washington can $22 Billion be considered small, but only in the Pentagon can $190 Billion be considered so lightly.

In the wake of bridges falling down, it is estimated that $22.6 Billion could repair our deteriorating infrastructure - approximately 11.6% of the amount requested by the Pentagon.

The total amount that has been pledged by the Federal government to rebuild New Orleans? - $27 Billion has been allocated for New Orleans and only about 22%, or about $6 Billion spent. So, if the entire amount allocated were to be spent on New Orleans that would only amount to 14% of the amount requested for Iraq. The amount of Federal money spent on New Orleans reconstruction? – just over 3% compared with next year’s war supplemental.

So How Will This $190 Billion Be Spent?

Consider a report from The Congressional Research Service prepared for Congress about spending in Iraq and on the War On Terror:

Gaps and Discrepancies. CRS, CBO, and GAO have all found various discrepancies in DOD figures — including understating budget authority and obligations, mismatches between BA and obligations data, double-counting of some obligations, questionable figures, and a lack of information about basic factors that affect costs such as troop strength or operating tempo metrics

For example, DOD does not count about $7 billion from its FY2003 regular appropriations act that was intended for GWOT but that it cannot track. CRS and CBO both include these funds. In 2005, GAO also found that DOD planning documents included $10 billion in each year for GWOT for the next five years that also cannot be identified. It also appears that DOD used about $2.5 billion from an unidentified source (probably from DOD’s baseline funds) to prepare for the invasion of Iraq in the summer and fall of 2002 before Congress approved the resolution approving the use of force in Iraq in October 2003.

…

Both CBO and GAO have raised concerns about the fact that DOD obligations reporting classifies large portions of funding as “other services and miscellaneous contracts,” a category too vague to be useful. Because of these and other limitations – such as the lack of performance metrics, limited detail on costs, and no outlay figures – estimates of the cost of alternative troops levels are difficult to make.

…

Uncertainty About Figures. DOD has also periodically revised the figures shown for each operation in previous years suggesting questions about the accuracy of its figures. CRS has used figures from DOD briefings, DFAS reports, and most recently, the FY2007 Supplemental justification to build its estimates.

For example, DFAS reports originally showed $38 billion in obligations for Iraq in FY2003, later revised to $42.4 billion. Most recently, DOD reports show $48 billion for Iraq in FY2003, which include not only obligations in later years but also $2 billion from an unknown source. The Comptroller General testified that the lack of actual costs, adequate supporting documentation, and reporting problems “make it difficult to reliably know what the war is costing, to determine how appropriated funds are being spent, and to use historical data to predict future trends.

Now, Should That Money Be Spent In A Wiser Way?

No.

It’s not our money.

It’s all on the United States’ credit card - our Federal line of credit. And the Congress is quietly voting to increase the Federal debt ceiling by almost One Trillion Dollars like adolescents sneaking into the house past curfew.

We should all more than ground them.