Plea for Iraq funds goes to Hill

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American troops in Iraq will continue to be in danger if Congress does not quickly pass the president's $87 billion emergency funding request, the American administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, told senators yesterday.

"Some Iraqis are beginning to regard us as occupiers and not as liberators. Some of this is inevitable, but faster progress on reconstruction will help," Mr. Bremer told the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"Unless this supplemental passes quickly, Iraqis face an indefinite period with blackouts eight hours daily. The link to the safety of our troops is indirect, but real."

Mr. Bremer called attacks on troops in Iraq "an unwelcome surprise," but said the United States must persevere or "we will have sown the dragon's teeth, which will sprout more terrorists and eventually cost more American lives."

President Bush last week submitted to Congress his request for $87 billion, of which $20.3 billion would go to reconstruction of Iraq. The rest would be allocated for military costs: $51 billion for the deployment in Iraq, $11 billion for the ongoing commitment to Afghanistan and $4 billion for the worldwide war on terrorism.

Now the administration and Republican leaders are trying to build the sense of urgency about approving the request as Congress begins a week of hearings on it.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Tennessee Republican, said he wants the full Senate to vote on it by the end of next week, while one House Republican aide said they hope to act "sooner rather than later" on the bill.

With a host of administration officials expected to testify before a half-dozen House and Senate committees, critics will have plenty of chances to question the initial war and the administration's handling of the aftermath.

Yesterday, Democrats on the committee said they would support the part of the request that funds the military.