Bush To Request $196.4 Billion For Iraq And Afghanistan

President Bush will ask Congress for an additional $46 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and finance other national security priorites, according to the Associated Press.

This brings the White House's total supplemental request to $196.4 billion, slightly above what lawmakers previously expected.

Congressional Democrats have signaled they will include some money to fund the wars in a defense spending bill later this fall, giving Congress and the White House more time to haggle over the final numbers.

In an attempt to broaden the discussion about war-funding, House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) and Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), who oversees the annual defense spending bill, have even advanced the idea of paying for the war in Iraq through an annual surtax on delinquent taxpayers.

Bush is expected to make a formal request for the money Monday afternoon during a speech at the White House.