Today, the president formally requested funds that Defense Secretary Robert Gates was sent to the Hill in September to retrieve. This request brings total FY 2008 supplemental war funding to $196.4 billion. It is the latest in a series. FY 2008 War Supplemental Funding Requests (billions of dollars) Occasion Funds for Dept. of Defense Funds for State Dept. and Other Agencies Total Request February, With President's FY 2008 Budget Reqeust 141.7 3.5 145.2 July, Dep. Defense Sec. England's Congressional Testimony 5.3 - 5.3 September, Sec. Gates's Congressional Testimony 42.3 3.6 45.9

A good article today on the declining value of funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Progam (LIHEAP). Given that gas prices are so volatile, wouldn't it make more sense just to make LIHEAP an entitlement program? About 30 million low-income American households who will need help paying heating bills this winter from a U.S. government program will be left in the cold because of a lack of funding for the program. The poor, already digging deep to pay for expensive gasoline, also will face much higher heating fuel costs, especially if oil prices stay near record levels.

After yesterday's post on the budget process, I got to thinking: what's the point of the Congressional Budget Resolution (see this Powerpoint for budget process basics)? Budget process experts will tell you that it brings order and coordination to the annual budget. But it also puts pressure to keep discretionary spending low. I'm talking about the cap on discretionary spending. Once it's set, it's rarely exceeded. In fact, its purpose is to make sure that spending does not go above a certain level. That is anti-spending.