President Clinton addresses representatives of organizations involved in Kosovo humanitarian relief efforts. (AP)

By Helen Dewar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 17, 1999; Page A16

President Clinton will ask Congress next week for about $6 billion for military and humanitarian operations in Kosovo through the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30, a senior administration official said yesterday.

Republican congressional leaders have indicated they will move quickly to approve the funding – perhaps as soon as next week – but may expand the package substantially to cover other defense needs that they argue have been shortchanged by the administration, from weapons to military pay.

Some Republicans said after meetings with administration officials Thursday that a total package of $14 billion to $15 billion is under consideration by the GOP majorities in both houses. Others have suggested even more is necessary. But they said no decision will be made until the administration's formal request is received.

"Our concern is that it go beyond just a bullet-for-bullet exchange. . . . It needs to make the Pentagon whole again," said John Feehery, spokesman for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). Feehery did not mention a number, but conservative Rep. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said, "A figure closer to $16 billion would be [a] more honest and realistic assessment of our emergency needs."

In its current form, the administration's proposal includes "just over $5 billion" for military operations, $670 million for relief of Kosovo refugees and the remainder for diplomatic and other related needs, such as security concerns in neighboring countries, the official said. Only a few days ago, the Pentagon had estimated it would need $3 billion to $4 billion.

The request will fully compensate for costs already incurred and provide sufficient resources to keep operations "at full strength for the balance of the fiscal year," the official said. This includes replacement of munitions "with, if anything, more not less" and a reserve fund to cover unforeseen contingencies, the official added.

The administration is asking Congress to approve all of the new spending under an "emergency" designation, which means it does not have to be offset by cuts in other programs. Republican leaders, including many who insist on offsetting domestic spending cuts, have indicated they will go along with the administration on the military spending but may require offsets for the rest.

"War is a classic case of emergency," Feehery said.

Elizabeth Mora, spokeswoman for the House Appropriations Committee, said the panel is "inclined to declare it as an emergency, the whole thing." But Feehery said the House leadership is "still looking at the question" of non-military spending, and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) has said he may insist on offsets for the non-military spending.

Without compensating cuts in other spending, the new money would come out of a projected budget surplus of $111 billion for fiscal 1999, which is generated entirely by a surplus in the Social Security trust fund.

Even though the administration and both parties on Capitol Hill say they are committed to using the surplus to shore up Social Security financing, the political cost of funding the war with huge cuts in already strapped domestic programs is unacceptable to most lawmakers.

And the cost could clearly be high. A Congressional Budget Office assessment, issued earlier this week, laid out the past and future costs in stark terms.

The U.S. share of NATO air operations over Yugoslavia during the first three weeks was roughly $600 million, and continuing the air strikes for another month would add more than $1 billion to the Pentagon tab, reaching a total of $4 billion if the attacks continue through September, according to the CBO. This appears to be in line with the administration's request.

In an estimate prepared for Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), the CBO also sketched out these other cost scenarios: If the operation escalated into a ground war involving U.S. troops, the cost would be $1.3 billion a month, or $15.6 billion over a year. If the air war continued into early May but was followed by a peacekeeping program, military and humanitarian costs through next March would be about $3 billion.

Staff writer Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.