Bush Expected To Detail Iraq Reconstruction Expenses ...

U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to lay out further details of his plans for postwar Iraq occupation and reconstruction spending at a meeting this evening at the White House with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and other GOP leaders as pressure from Congress mounts to provide additional funds for the military and civilian authorities. According to a report released Tuesday by CBO, under the current budget, the Pentagon would have to begin decreasing active Army units in Iraq after March 2004. CBO Director Holtz-Eakin testified for the first time today before the Senate Budget Committee since the release last month of CBO's new deficit forecast, $480 billion in FY04 and totaling $1.4 trillion between FY04.