War cost the US more than €33 billion by August

A cost assessment for the U.S. Department of Defense was released on Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a party body.

The CBO stated that war is expected to contribute to inflation by the first quarter of 2027, raising it by about 0.5 percentage points above previous estimates.

These estimated results are largely due to the reduction of shipments of oil and natural gas through the Strait of Ormuz and the disruptions in maritime transport through the Red Sea.

The estimate of USD 38 billion (EUR 33 billion), drawn up in response to a request for information from Congressman Brendan Boyle, the most senior Democrat in the House of Representatives Budget Committee (Low Chamber of Congress), largely aligns with a previous estimate by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The governor had calculated the costs at $37.5 billion, as stated in his testimony to the Senate.

According to the CBO, the costs mainly result from the replacement of ammunition and equipment lost in combat and no expenses related to US military personnel killed or injured in the conflict are included, nor long-term costs with medical assistance and disability compensation for veterans.

Boyle pointed out that, in addition to the human cost of the war, “this non-partisan report of the CBO makes it clear that the conflict also cost US taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, a value that continues to rise, while boosting the increase in other expenditure.”.

“Donald Trump and the Republicans have spent years telling Americans that we are unable to help families here in the country, but apparently they can find tens of billions of dollars, and potentially much more, for a reckless war that leaves the Americans to pay the bill,” he stressed.

These conclusions arise at a time when voters follow the war and raise prices on the eve of the mid-term elections, which will define the control of Congress, where Republicans currently hold the majority in the House and Senate.

The conflict, which began on February 28, lasts seven months, with no sign of a rapid outcome to intermittent hostilities.

The White House requested, in June, additional funding of $87,6 billion, mainly for the war effort, but Congress has not yet approved the request.

The CBO reported that the portion of this request apparently directly related to the conflict, $42.3 billion, is about 10% higher than the body’s own estimate for the Defense Department’s costs.

The Department of Defense refused to access the request for information from the CBO for the preparation of the report, an attitude that broke with the usual practices.

The budgetary body stated that it was based on government databases and public reports and therefore stated that its estimates “are subject to considerable uncertainty”.

A report by the Pentagon inspector-general released on Monday pointed out that the war resulted in “strategic deficiencies in the reserves”.