Nancy Pelosi may support war tax for Afghanistan

Digital Journal reported last week that three Democrats introduced a new tax that would go directly to the war in Afghanistan called “Share the Sacrifice Act.” On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi kept the door open to a proposal by key Democrats to institute a war surtax to help pay for the war in Afghanistan, according to CNN. While she was quite vague on the subject, she issued her concerns among fellow Congressional Democrats and economic writers in a conference call about the costs of the war, “But let me say that there is serious unrest in our Caucus about can we afford this war?" In addition to Appropriations Committee Chairman Wisconsin Congressman Dave Obey, Defense Appropriations Subcommittee John Murtha of Pennsylvania and Connecticut Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larsen, several other Democratic leaders have co-sponsored the bill such as New York Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel and Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Barney Frank. Michigan Democratic Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee recently said he has endorsed the idea to pay for the war. The Chicago Tribune reports Obey iterated that he feels the war in Afghanistan will cost over $1 trillion over the next ten years, “Now, the president is being asked to consider an enlarged counterinsurgency effort in Afghanistan. ... But unlike the health care bill, that would not be paid for. We believe that's wrong." The Los Angeles Times notes that the government would instigate a 1 per cent surtax on people earning less than $150,000 and it would affect people making as little as $22,000. Military personnel who have been enlisted in the armed forces since September 11, 2001 and their families would be exempt from the surtax. According to CNN, President Barack Obama will make a formal announcement on his United States troop strategy in Afghanistan on Tuesday at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, which the White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs confirmed.