WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) proposed a temporary surtax to pay for American military operations against ISIS. The proposal, offered as an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2016 federal budget currently under consideration by the Senate, is backed by Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Ranking Member on the Senate Budget Committee. Under the Coons-Sanders proposal, the temporary surtax would be discontinued once relevant military operations have concluded.
The amendment will be voted on this afternoon.
“Through each of our nation's armed conflicts, new revenue streams not only provided the resources our military needed, they reminded the American people that our country was at war and we all needed to contribute to the effort,” Senator Coons said on the Senate floor last night. “But after 14 years and two wars that have cost our nation trillions of dollars, I fear we have forgotten this important lesson from our history. We cannot write another blank check for a war.”
“The Republican Party has to end their hypocrisy with regard to deficits and the national debt,” said Senator Sanders. “They are going to have to be honest with the American people. Wars are enormously expensive, not only in terms of human life and suffering, but in terms of the budget. If the Republicans want another war in the Mideast, they are going to have to tell the American people how much it will cost them and how it will be paid for.”
Since last year, Senator Coons has led efforts to ensure the U.S. does not, once again, begin open-ended military operations that could stretch on for years without considering potential fiscal impacts. Earlier this month, Senator Coons pressed top military officials, including U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, on the Obama Administration’s position on paying for combat operations against ISIS.
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