While the House Appropriations Committee is planning to mark up its $417 billion fiscal 2005 defense spending bill Wednesday, sending it to the floor as early as next week, the Senate has come across obstacles with their companion measure and might not begin until after the upcoming recess. President Bush’s $25 billion war fund will be the most controversial issue on Wednesday’s markup. Rep. David R Obey (D-Wisconsin), is attempting to increase the size of the fund to $65 billion in order to more accurately reflect the cost of the war operations and tighten reporting requirements on the Pentagon’s spending.

The measure constitutes a 7% increase over the Defense Department’s current non-war budget providing the Pentagon with $392 billion in fiscal 2005, not including the $25 billion war fund. Since the war fund will be available once the measure is enacted, there has been pressure on the appropriators to pass a final bill before the August recess. In the Senate Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the Appropriations Committee, is not moving forward until the defense authorization bill is finalized because he has expressed concern that the many pending amendments will be offered on the appropriations measure if he begins a markup. According to Congressional Quarterly, Stevens does not want to leave for recess with the defense bill still open for debate, and thus will not begin markup unless he believes he can complete the floor action before Congress departs.