Want to Know How Many of Your Tax Dollars go to Funding Wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria? (H.R. 2376)

What is H.R. 2376?

(Updated June 29, 2018)

This bill would require the Dept. of Defense (DOD) to publicly post how much each of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria cost each U.S. taxpayer. 

These numbers would be published on the DOD’s public website after consulting with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Under current law, the DOD is not required to publish an estimated cost of U.S. wars per taxpayer on its website or anywhere else.

Argument in favor

For the sake of transparency, the DOD needs to make the public aware of the costs that the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria have posed to taxpayers. Where better to do that than the DOD website?

Argument opposed

This is a petty proposal that would do little to enhance the public’s knowledge of war costs. Why not use the DOD's resources for something more useful than pulling stats that very few taxpayers will actually see?

Impact

Taxpayers and members of the public who wish to view the cost of U.S. wars, members of the armed forces, their families, the DOD, and the IRS.

Cost of H.R. 2376

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: After introducing this bill in the 113th Congress, sponsoring Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) cited the lengthy nature of America’s post-9/11 conflicts as a reason for there to be greater transparency about the cost of those wars:

“The war in Afghanistan has become the longest war in our history. According to a Brown University study we have spent and currently obligated almost $4 trillion dollars on war since FY 2001. This is much, much more than the $50 billion we were told these conflicts would cost in the beginning.  The Pentagon was originally allocated $1.4 billion to pay for these conflicts, and we have spent trillions more, paid for mainly by raising taxes and selling war bonds.”

Of Note: Attempts to estimate the cost of the wars to U.S. taxpayers have yielded a variety of results based on the types of costs included in the analysis. For example, the Congressional Research Service estimated the financial cost to taxpayers at $1.6 trillion, while others have put the price tag as high as $4 to $6 trillion if you factor in veterans' benefits and the costs of replenishing the military.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) Press Release (Previous Version)
• The Hill