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Black congressional leaders and civil rights activists said Tuesday that a new Bush administration request for $80 billion to pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could further jeopardize critical social-service initiatives that millions of blacks rely on for basic needs. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) said while President George W. Bush asks Congress to fund U.S. military operations overseas, Congress is also responsible for protecting the needs of Americans at home. She said $80 billion is an extraordinary request to fund a war in Iraq that was based on faulty intelligence. Eighty billion dollars for no weapons of mass destruction and no successful regime change, Jackson Lee told BlackAmericaWeb.com TuesdayThere aren't enough resources here already. Bush's funding request comes at a time when financially-troubled public hospitals in black communities are closing and the future of Social Security is being debated, Jackson Lee said. She added that she expects Bush to return to Congress again sometime during his tenure to request even more funding for military operations in Iraq.The president believes in what he believes in, but we have to give careful scrutiny to defense requests, Jackson Lee said in an interview. What is the potential long-term plan for this administration [in Iraq], and when will there be an announcement that we are bringing our troops home? [more]