The Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel convened to ascertain the Iraq war and recommend courses of action, released its report yesterday. Recommendation 72 of the ISG is that: Costs for the war in Iraq should be included in the President’s annual budget request, starting in FY 2008: the war is in its fourth year, and the normal budget process should not be circumvented. Funding requests for the war in Iraq should be presented clearly to Congress and the American people. Congress must carry out its constitutional responsibility to review budget requests for the war in Iraq carefully and to conduct oversight. Almost four years into the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the president is still making emergency requests for funding. Including the $70 billion "bridge fund" in the FY2007 Defense approps bill, we have spent over $500 billion on the two wars - the vast majority of which is outside the normal budget process. Not only does "emergency" funding circumvent legislated budget caps, but, as the ISG report notes, it results in only a "perfunctory review" of the requested funds. (via ThinkProgress)