众议院内部已开始就一项潜在的补充拨款法案进行初步讨论，以支持美国与以色列对伊朗的联合打击行动，具体取决于行动持续时间以及两国对伊斯兰共和国施加压力的程度。
俄克拉荷马州共和党众议员、众议院拨款委员会主席汤姆·科尔上周告诉记者，他“预计”国防部会在“年底前”提出补充资金请求。
“我们被告知五角大楼正在考虑此事，但尚未收到关于金额或时间框架的任何信息，”科尔表示。
当被《福克斯新闻数字版》问及他预期的价格标签时，科尔推测道：“维持两个航母战斗群持续行动并不便宜，更不用说正在消耗的所有其他资源了。因此，我预计金额会非常可观。”
“这在对话中已经是一个相当频繁讨论的部分，”佛罗里达州共和党众议员、众议院外交事务委员会主席布莱恩·马斯特在谈及伊朗资金法案时对《福克斯新闻数字版》表示。
纽约州共和党众议员、众议院国土安全委员会主席安德鲁·加巴里诺也向《福克斯新闻数字版》表示，他将“绝对”支持一项国防补充拨款法案。
一位众议院拨款委员会匿名高级成员表示，他们预计对伊朗的资金会有适度增加，但目前存在多个变量，导致总成本难以预估。
“这取决于行动持续多久，”他们解释道，“这很大程度上取决于我们的墨西哥湾沿岸合作伙伴是否参与，如果参与将有所帮助。也取决于以色列行动的持续时间。但我们肯定需要更多弹药，所以我认为小额补充拨款对于补充库存可能非常重要。”
但要向众议院民主党人兜售增加伊朗资金的必要性可能颇具难度，许多民主党人认为特朗普的介入已构成非法战争。
“当政府向国会提出额外资金请求供审议时，我们会再处理相关问题，”纽约州民主党众议员、众议院少数党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯周日在接受全国广播公司“与媒体见面”节目采访时表示，“但在现阶段，政府未能就其在中东这场‘选择之战’的理由或合理性做出充分说明。”
由于众议院共和党人仅以微弱优势掌控多数席位（本周佐治亚州补选后预计优势将增至两票），共和党领袖可能难以安抚党内财政保守派。
“我们需要知道冲突的具体条件和持续时间——我们很多人都很高兴能打击并摧毁伊朗的能力和清除大量‘坏人’，但最终目标是什么？”德克萨斯州共和党众议员奇普·罗伊对《福克斯新闻数字版》表示。
“其次，资金是否有保障？所以，对我们打击‘坏人’行动的总体支持是存在的，但我们必须明确行动的界限和成本，以及资金来源。”
即便该法案在众议院通过，也需在参议院获得60票才能推进，这意味着至少需要几名民主党人支持。
《福克斯新闻数字版》已就此事联系国防部寻求进一步置评。
伊丽莎白·埃尔金德是《福克斯新闻数字版》的政治记者，主要报道众议院动态。此前曾在《每日邮报》和哥伦比亚广播公司新闻担任数字专栏作者。
在Twitter上关注她 @liz_elkind，或发送线索至 elizabeth.elkind@fox.com。
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill could soon add another priority to their growing agenda as Republicans work to navigate a partial government shutdown and other deadlines looming in the next several weeks — weighing whether to provide additional cash to fund President Donald Trump’s operation in Iran.
Early chatter is beginning in the House of Representatives over a potential supplemental funding bill to aid the U.S. and Israel’s joint strikes on Iran, depending on how long the operation lasts and how much both countries bear down on the Islamic Republic.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., told reporters last week that he would “expect” a supplemental funding request from the Department of War “well before the end of the year.”
“We’ve been told the Pentagon is looking at it, but we haven’t been given anything about an amount or time frame yet,” Cole said.
Asked by Fox News Digital about what kind of price tag he would expect, Cole speculated, “Maintaining two carrier battle groups in action is not a cheap thing, not to mention all the other resources that are being expended. So I would expect it to be very robust.”
“It’s been a pretty frequent part of conversation,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital of an Iran funding bill.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., also told Fox News Digital he would “absolutely” back a defense supplemental funding bill.
A senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, who was granted anonymity to speak freely, said they envisioned a modest increase in funding for Iran but said there were multiple variables at work that made a total cost unknowable at this point.
“It depends on how long it lasts,” they said. “A lot of this depends on, do our Gulf Coast partners participate? If they do, that helps. It depends on how long Israel goes. But we’ll definitely need some more munitions, so I’d say a small supplemental is probably important to just restock.”
But it will likely be difficult to sell the need for more Iran funding to House Democrats, many of whom have argued Trump’s involvement has amounted to an illegal war.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it in terms of if the administration makes a request to Congress to consider additional funding,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told NBC’s “Meet The Press” on Sunday. “But at this particular point in time, the administration has failed to make its case as to the rationale or justification for this war of choice in the Middle East.”
And with the House GOP’s razor-thin majority, which is expected to grow to two votes after a special election in Georgia this week, Republican leaders could have a tough time appeasing fiscal hawks in their own party.
“We need to know what the terms of the conflict are going to be, how long — a lot of us are very happy with going after and taking out Iran’s capabilities and taking out a lot of their bad guys, but what’s the endgame?” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said to Fox News Digital.
“Number two, is it paid for? So, you know, general support for what we’re doing to go after the bad guys, but we’ve got to know what the limits are and how much it’s gonna cost, and if it’s paid for.”
Even if it passes the House, such legislation would need 60 votes to advance in the Senate, meaning at least several Democrats would need to be on board.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of War for additional comment.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
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