In a new fact sheet, the Institute for Policy Studies explains that the war with Iran is already costing U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars. “Daily operations in and around Iran for these major military systems are costing… an estimated $59.3 million per day. That [money] could instead cover the daily costs of Medicaid for more than 4 million Americans, or SNAP (food stamps) for more than 9.5 million Americans. Both programs were subject to significant cuts under last year’s H.R. 1, with millions of Americans at risk of going hungry and without healthcare as a result.”
HANNA HOMESTEAD; [email protected]
Homestead is a research analyst with the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.
Homestead told the Institute for Public Accuracy: “This is an illegal and deeply unpopular war of aggression against Iran that is already incurring massive human costs… Just operating aircraft and ships in the region is costing nearly $60 million per day. That is just a fraction of the total cost; it doesn’t include munitions and troop deployment. The cost of munitions is already expected to be in the billions.
“We are still learning about the costs of this catastrophic war of choice. But the costs are real and mounting. There is little transparency right now because these are active combat operations, but we know the cost of bombs, munitions, and intercept missiles in particular are adding up fast. The timeline here is so open-ended. They’re now talking about [operations continuing] through September. It’s never clean and simple.
“This is the first thing we have put out about the cost of the war. It’s just an early estimate of the numbers, because as time has moved on and more information has become available, we have updated our figures in terms of cost.
“All of this funding is being paid for out of a trillion-dollar war budget while American people are struggling to meet their needs. The daily cost of the Iran war would be enough to cover the daily cost of Medicaid for all 16 million of the people who are expected to lose benefits as a result of GOP budget cuts.
“The Pentagon has spent billions of dollars on the weapons used for this illegal assault and is preparing to ask Congress for more money. A request to fund additional munitions and replacement munitions was expected in Congress on March 6. They’re asking for that on top of the trillion-dollar Pentagon budget. At a time with the highest income inequality in this country, a significant cost of living and affordability crisis, the Pentagon is asking for even more funding for an illegal war of choice that most Americans do not support.
“That $50 billion package [that was introduced in Congress] could help reverse many of the harms in the reconciliation bill last year. Collectively, that money could extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for an entire year to save families from insurance premium increases, could restore annual SNAP benefits for 2.4 million people, and it could provide Medicaid to nearly 2 million people who couldn’t otherwise access healthcare this year.”