Now America’s expenditure on the ongoing war between America and Iran is increasing rapidly. US Defense Minister Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee that till now America has spent 37.5 billion dollars (about Rs 3.2 lakh crore) on this war. This figure is about $ 8 billion more than the Pentagon’s estimate in May.
The Pentagon has now asked Congress for additional funding of $87 billion. Of this, about $67 billion has been earmarked for military operations in the Middle East. Describing it as very important, Hegseth said that President Donald Trump’s defense budget of 1.5 trillion dollars is a big investment for the US Army in the future. He said that if this money is not received, there may be difficulty in paying salaries of soldiers, replenishing arms and ammunition and continuing military operations without interruption.
17 American soldiers have died so far
Meanwhile, the American army has also suffered losses in the war. According to the Pentagon, 3 more American soldiers have died recently. With this, the number of American soldiers who have died since the beginning of July has reached 17, while more than 100 soldiers have been injured. The cost of war is continuously increasing. Its expenditure in the first week was said to be 11.3 billion dollars. By May 12, it had increased to about $29 billion. Now this figure has reached 37.5 billion dollars.
Questions raised on additional funding
There is a heated debate going on in Congress regarding this additional funding. Democratic lawmakers have raised questions on the war policy of the Trump administration. Senator Patty Murray said that this war is again becoming an endless war. He asked that when Trump is repeatedly saying that an agreement with Iran is close, then why more than $70 billion of additional money is needed. Senator Jean Shaheen also raised the question that almost half of the $150 billion budget received last year has not been spent yet, then why new funding is being sought. To this Hegseth replied that the earlier money would be spent by September.
Debate between Hegseth and Democrat MPs
During the hearing that lasted more than three hours, anti-war protesters repeatedly disrupted the proceedings by shouting slogans. There was also a heated debate between Hegseth and Democrat MPs during the hearing. The Republican Party wants to pass this funding bill soon, but Democrats and some Republican MPs are opposing it. In such a situation, there is still uncertainty about whether this proposal will be passed before the Congress holidays.
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